


Tiptoeing around the mistle

by Rona23



Series: Merlin´s  magic [43]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aro/Ace Leon, Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, Christmas, Christmas Special, Everyone Loves Merlin (Merlin), F/M, Fluff, Gen, Gwaine Flirts (Merlin), Immortal Leon (Merlin), Jealous Arthur, Kissing, Leon is so done, M/M, Mistletoe, Multiple Perspectives, Not Kissing, Oblivious Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Oblivious Merlin (Merlin), Other, Pansexual Character, Pining Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Platonic Kissing, Protective Arthur, Romance, Winter Solstice, mentioned kilgharrah, open to suggestions Gwaine, pan Gwaine, sex and romance aversed Leon, this is a story about NOT kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:27:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27977352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rona23/pseuds/Rona23
Summary: After a break up with his latest romantic interest, Gwaine is dead set on getting everyone in the castle to kiss him. (He has a list)To achieve the impossible, he fills the entire castle with mistletoes.That is until another knight (Leon) complains and makes a bet with him.Gwaine and Arthur (because the poor king somehow got involved in this), are NOT allowed to kiss anyone at all.And they are not allowed to tell the people involved the true reason why.What starts out as a rather simple bet, soon turns out to be a real dreadful experience.A.N.:// This is a short story about NOT kissing. And what effects that can have on people. (It sounds more serious in the summary then it will be in the story, I promise. It will turn out more wholesome towards the end.)This is my far too early christmas special for you. But we could all need some christmas spirit, right?
Relationships: George & Leon (Merlin), Gwaine & Lancelot & Percival (Merlin), Gwaine & Lancelot (Merlin), Gwaine & Leon (Merlin), Gwaine & Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine/Percival (Merlin), Gwen & Lancelot (Merlin), Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin), Lancelot & Leon (Merlin), Lancelot & Percival (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merlin´s  magic [43]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588378
Comments: 80
Kudos: 148





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I know not every aro/ace person reacts or feels the way that Leon does in this one. I don't even know why I'm typing this.  
> I know aro/ace representation is rare (especially separately), I can't press every aro/ace representation into ONE character or story. But I'd have too many characters, if I decided to show all sides separately. It would exhaust me and not work for the story and therefore be a little unreasonable.  
> I'm vibing here. With Leon, that's all. 
> 
> Not gonna lie. What this story needs? More diverse characters. More nbs. More main character women instead of side characters, I mean: More Gwen. More Morgana (I tend to avoid her for canon reasons). More Elyan, more Percival! More knights! Less mistletoes..... no seriously, there are too many. 
> 
> Anyway, this story has multiple perspectives.  
> Leon with his friendship to George (and wife), being annoyed by mistletoes.  
> Gwaine, being attracted to everyone, putting up FAR TOO MANY mistletoes.  
> Arthur, pining for Merlin, but getting caught up in Leon's and Gwaine's mistletoe war. 
> 
> If I need to add more tags, please don't hesitate to tell me :)

“This is a bad idea.”, Lancelot said, both eyebrows raised.  
He was standing several feet beneath Gwaine, holding the ladder.  
“Oh come on, it's not like anyone's going to complain about it.”, Gwaine was the one standing ON the ladder. But his voice was muffled, because he was holding a few nails in his mouth.  
On the side of the ladder, he had already hung up a bucket full of green plants. Small white berries were growing from them. 

“Half the castle has already complained, Gwaine.”, Lancelot sighed and shook his head. Trying not to look at Gwaine who was almost swinging in the height he was standing in. All while humming some songs. 

“They're no fun. Ignore them.”  
“Gwaine, I'm serious. You've already put up mistletoes all over the kitchens, the stables, even the knights chambers AND the armory! Isn't this a bit.... too much?”

“You can never have get enough kisses.”, Gwaine sing songed and another loud bang echoed in the halls, while he hammered another mistle at the wall. 

“You're taking this tradition really serious.”, Lancelot continued to point out. Truth be told, the only reason he was helping Gwaine was to make sure the man wasn't going to injure himself.  
“It is the very best tradition. I'm just spreading a message of love.”, Gwaine winked at him.

Lancelot blinked. “I know a certain knight who will definitely hate you for this.”  
“Lancelot. Sir Lance. Lancy my dearest commoner friend. This year I will get a kiss from EVERYONE in this castle. And if I have to redecorate the entire Castle to make it happen, I will.”  
“Are you still hung up about Margaret?”  
“NO!”, Gwaine stressed out too confidentially to be anything but a lie. 

“You cannot just force everyone to kiss you!”  
“Last year I kissed around fifty people. I BET I can top it.”  
“Are you drunk?”  
“No.”, again, stressed out too long.  
“Are you standing on a ladder, while being drunk?”  
“You're no fun, Lance.”  
“Gwaine, get down there.”

Gwaine sighed, but complied anyway. As soon as he reached the ground, Lancelot slapped him upon the head.  
“I'm starting to get really worried about your alcohol consume.”  
“You're STARTING to get worried?”, Gwaine smirked back. Lancelot slapped him again, causing Gwaine to laugh back at him.

\-------------------------------

“This is it. I'm going to die.”  
“It's not that bad, Leon.”  
“No, I'm serious. If this doesn't kill me, I will do it myself.”

“With all due respect, Sire.”, George bowed lightly towards the man with the blond locks, who was currently one foot away from a door that was basically covered in mistletoes.  
“But you're being dramatic.”

“I'M being dramatic?”, Leon turned to George, his face covered in dread.  
“And what is THIS?”, he pointed both his arms in the direction of the harmless plants. Or rather at the people who were standing underneath. Either already kissing someone, or sneakily waiting for someone to fall into the trap that was Christmas tradition.*  
“This is desperation.”, George answered, barely concealing his twitching smile. 

Leon hissed in a deep breath. He didn't comment on it, but his face said: 'I hate it when you're right.'

Then his eyes widened, as he noticed someone who was already waiting underneath another … very green looking mistletoe.  
“Quick, hide me!”, Leon basically crouched down to hide behind the much smaller servant. Which was a very bad hiding spot. Especially, since Leon was not only taller than George, he was also wearing armor and a very big red cape. Him sitting down on the cold stone floor was not only extremely eye catching, it was also incredibly loud.  
As his metal armor clattered with the ground. 

“Sire -”, George cleared his throat.  
“It's Margaret.”, Leon hissed.  
“She can still see you.”, George sighed. “Come on. Let's pretend you tripped. The armory would be a better hiding place.  
Women are not allowed in there.” The fact might be a bit sexist, but that was a concern for another time. Right now, Leon would just be really, really happy to escape the hopeful eyes of one of the – admittedly prettiest – servants the entire Castle had to offer. 

Yes. It's THE Margaret. The woman who had broken it off with Gwaine. Because she had a crush on another guy. Another knight. One who took his job more seriously. One who was single and treated everyone with equal respect.  
But who was also.... very much …. NOT. Interested.  
It's not like Gwaine knew the real reason why Margaret had stopped wanting to see him. If he did, it was questionable, if he had done this entire mistletoe idea in the first place.

“Thank you, George.”, Leon sighed and grabbed for George's outstretched hand. As soon as Leon stood, George was already surrounding him like a worried mother hen and brushed of the faintest specks of dust on his armor.  
Then George cleared his throat. Just to make sure that the waiting Margret would definitely hear them. “This way Sire. You should really look at this-”  
Leon nodded seriously, like they were actually talking about something. Which.... they weren't.  
And followed him. Pointedly avoiding each and every mistletoe, as he went.  
Or he strode past, hoping desperately that nobody was standing underneath. Once of twice, he had to physically avoid people who were fluttering their eyelashes at him.  
All in good fun of course. 

Don't get him wrong. Leon wasn't scared of kisses. He wasn't scared of the act itself. He was scared that the people he kissed expected more from him. That, if he agreed to follow tradition, he would set himself up to break people's hearts.  
He hated nothing more than telling people that he wasn't into them. And – alright – some people – like George for example – knew this.  
Them, Leon could make an exception for. If his mood was right for it.  
But complete strangers?  
Servants who hoped to marry their way up the food chain? People who fell in love easily? People he couldn't actually tell what they were feeling?  
THOSE terrified him. 

He was also faintly aware that Margaret was following them. She must think herself sneaky. But seriously, there are only so many turns you could take that went almost all around the Castle that could be considered coincidence if you kept running into each other. 

How Leon could even tell that she liked him? Well, the stalking was one indicator. Also, Leon had a very good radar what people in love looked like.  
Some more than others. But Margaret was the epitome of obvious.  
She was fluttering her eyes at him, every time they talked. She laughed about jokes that weren't supposed to be funny. Because she lost the red string of conversation in favor of staring at Leon's face.... or other body parts. 

And Leon felt like one feels when being watched by their boss. Eyes over your shoulder, watching every movement you make. Causing you to mess up.  
The problem was that she was probably taking his clumsiness as signs that he liked her back. Not signs of feeling uncomfortable. Objectively speaking, that can be hard to distinguish, if he was being honest.  
But if his constant attempts to avoid her weren't speaking for themselves, then what about the direct 'No' answer he had given to her very direct question: “Would you like to date me.”, last week?

“Are you dating anyone at the moment?”, she had asked then, like the no wasn't enough.  
“I'm not interested in dating.”, Leon had answered, just as pointedly.  
“Oh, I'm sorry.”, she had patted his shoulder awkwardly. Like she was sorry for him.  
“It's okay, if you're not over your last relationship. I can wait for you, if you need time.”

Leon had given her nothing but a scandalized look.  
“Or are you already interested in someone else?”, she looked sad at the question.  
Leon's had taken a deep breath, looking from side to side, in hopes of finding an escape. The only person that had been available was George.  
It was always George. Because George and him got along surprisingly well.  
“I am not.”, Leon had finally said then. He had felt the desperate need to make sure he wasn't interested. “And I am not interested in you either. Now excuse, because I have work to do.”

“Did something happen to you? Did someone mistreat you? I promise, I'll be different.”

Leon knew she meant well. But at this point she was getting annoying and too persistent for his liking. “Or are you into guys? I know a guy who -”  
“Leave me alone!”  
Needless to say: 'Just tell her no', was the best advice Lancelot had ever given him.  
It worked so well. Not. 

They came to a halt right in front of the armory.  
“I changed my mind.”, Leon said and took another deep breath in hopes to calm himself down a little. Because the entire armory was covered in mistletoes as well. They stood only a few feet away from the room. But it was clear from Leon's expression that he was not going to enter this room.  
The door, the ceiling. Even the floor AND the armor. FULL of green and white.  
“I will kill whoever did this.”, he said, his stare blank as he realized his safe haven was actually not a safe haven anymore. 

Leon took notice of the way that George's eyes widened in realization and he blinked a couple of times to understand what was going on.  
George may be a bit more reserved about the whole ordeal, because he was married and stuff. But at least he wasn't rubbing it in anyone's faces. His wife was pretty chill too.  
Leon liked her. She was a seamstress and George's first and true love.  
But first and foremost, the three of them were good friends. They met regularly in their small home in the lower town. And there they talked about the most treasonous things.  
“I haven't lived for over four . Centuries. To suffer. Like this.” Leon paused, breaking up the sentence into separate parts to stretch his anger out verbally. 

“I'll take them down?”, George offered.  
Leon nodded. “That would be very nice, thank you.”, he said, even though he only half meant it.  
It wasn't George's fault, obviously. It clearly wasn't Margaret either, because she wasn't allowed in here. The guards would have stopped her. As the knights changed in here and therefore, women were not supposed to be here. 

If they had any female knights, they should definitely think about instating another armory for them. Or they could take a wild turn and just decide everyone got their own room to change in.  
Their own room, their own trusted personal servant etc.. Then everyone would have the chance to feel comfortable. And they could stop making this a gender based discussion, because in that case they would clearly need more than one armory. Or two. 

Leon was over four hundred years old. He had seen all kinds of people. Everybody complained about everything. Just give them privacy and be done with it. It can't be that hard. Make stalls, maybe, for those who feel uncomfortable. There is literally no reason to force anyone into these kinds of stressful situations. **

Anyway. It may not be George's fault. But Leon's tone was referring to the 'You're being dramatic' thing from earlier. George shook his head.  
“Okay, I take everything back. This person is DRAMATICALLY desperate.”  
“This isn't another magical problem, is it? Because if so, I will break our swear of silence and I WILL make Merlin take care of this mess.”  
The silence swear was Kilgharrah's idea. Don't ask. The blasted dragon did whatever he wanted anyway. Maybe they should give the mistletoes to him. Weren't they supposed to keep evil spirits away? Maybe Kilgharrah would just.... disappear. 

What a Christmas that would be.  
“I'm afraid not.”, George shook his head and sighed. “But maybe you should complain to Arthur first.”  
“Oh, I definitely will.”, Leon nodded eagerly. Then he said George goodbye and headed into the direction of the throne room. All while George stood there, in the middle of greens and whites and sighed in exasperation.  
Like he didn't have enough to do already. 

\--------------------------------------------------

“It's too much, Gwaine. You have to take them of.”, Arthur explained, almost desperately. And no, Leon hadn't even reached out to him yet.

Arthur had his very own.... predicament with the situation.  
Because you see.... This is about Merlin.  
Or moreover the fact that Merlin was adored by the entire castle staff. And today you could see the man being hugged and kissed at every corner of the castle by everyone you could imagine.  
From the five year old daughter of the cook, up to the great grandfather of the newest guard. 

Arthur was exhausted by watching them.  
“How do you even know it was me? Did Lance tell you? I bet it was Lance. That little-”, Gwaine muttered.  
“I saw you put them up right over the latrine, Gwaine!”  
“Oh well then.”, Gwaine smiled and let himself fall into the next seat, right across from Arthur.  
“The latrine is a very nice place to -”  
“DON'T-”, Arthur didn't look at Gwaine, but he pointed at him, as he interrupted the man.  
“-even finish that sentence.”

“Okay.”, Gwaine put his feet on to Arthur's table and crossed his arms behind his head.  
“So, why exactly is this so important to you? Someone you want to avoid kissing?”, Gwaine grinned, knowing fully well what Arthur was actually scared of.

“No. In fact, I'd rather have them avoid a certain someone.” Arthur was fiddling with the quill in his hands. He still wasn't looking at Gwaine, quite affronted by the unspoken fact.  
Also, they may be in the throne room, but Merlin was off somewhere. Doing stuff. Or kissing people. And he was currently thinking about that and felt really bad about it.  
Gwaine rolled his eyes. “Sire, if there is anyone in here who could both order Merlin to not kiss anyone BUT you, it's you.”

Arthur sputtered. “How on earth – I didn't – this isn't about Merlin – this....”, his nostrils flared in embarrassment, but Gwaine gave him a pointed look.  
“Princess, the entire Castle knows. We're not blind. The only person in this entire kingdom who'd be as oblivious as you are, is Merlin. So just square up, take a mistletoe and snug him, like anyone else would in your situation.  
Honestly, Arthur. I'm doing you a FAVOR. If anything, I deserve a medal for my genius idea.”  
Gwaine grinned again. 

Arthur bit his lip, but didn't deny it. “I still can't order Merlin around to not kiss anyone.”  
“Of course you can. And I bet you will, too. Something like: “MERlin, stop wasting my time and do your job, instead of snogging half the kingdom!””, Gwaine mimicked Arthur and admittedly, he did sound a bit like Arthur.  
“Here. Problem solved.”  
“NOTHING is solved!”, Arthur blushed a little. If of embarrassment or annoyance remained to be a mystery. “It's not like he would listen to that. If anything, he's going to do it more, just to piss me off.”

Before Gwaine could answer, the door burst open and a very annoyed Leon walked towards them.  
He was walking fast, as if he had hurried here.  
“Sire.... I have dire matters to discuss with you.”, his voice echoed towards them and Arthur sighed again.  
“Not now, Leon. If it's not a life or death scenario -”  
“It's the mistletoes, Sire. They HAVE to go!”, Leon practically begged.

He came to a halt next to were Gwaine sat, who now laughed hysterically at a joke that Leon didn't get. That may be, because they were standing/sitting right underneath one of those blasted plants.  
Arthur blinked at him. Then at Gwaine. Then he sighed in relief. “Oh good. You think so too. Maybe you can help me convince Gwaine to put them down?”

Leon opened his mouth, then his brain caught up to the implication that the only reason a knight would have to undecorate the castle was – if he had put them up in the first place.  
“That was YOU?”, Leon gave Gwaine an exasperated look. 

Gwaine grinned and nodded at him. “You're welcome.”, he winked and then pointed at the mistletoe above them.  
Leon followed his finger and then paled a deep ashen gray. A second later Leon drew his sword and cut the blasted thing off the ceiling, only to throw it into the next chimney. The fire exploded a little around the plant. 

Gwaine, completely flabbergasted and struck stunned, because he had expected Leon to react a bit more positively, let the chair he had been balancing himself on, fall back onto all fours.  
“Holy shit, Leon calm down.”, Gwaine rose both his hands at him in defense, as Leon tried to bring his breathing under control and sheathed away his sword. 

“Leon, is there something wrong with the mistletoes?”, Arthur asked, now staring at the other mistletoes decorating his table as though they were threatening his life.  
Leon growled. “The problem is what they are causing!”, he gritted out.  
“EVERY year, I have to put up with these blasted things. But I could at least walk around them. NOW they are EVERYWHERE! George is currently cleaning out the armory, because you cannot enter the bloody room without getting stuck in a pile of them!”

Arthur gave Gwaine a pointed look.  
“What?”, Gwaine crossed his arms over his chest now. “Guys need affection too.”  
Leon looked like he was ready to throw hands with him.  
“The armory was the ONE safe space in the entire Castle!”

“Oh come on.”, Gwaine pouted. “It's not that bad. What's so wrong with kissing people? You would like it too, if you tried.”  
Leon's entire face twitched at that. Leon, the usually very stern and most calm knight anyone had ever met – promising murder with his eyes alone.

“Chill.”, Gwaine added under the heavy gaze. “Just because you haven't found anyone -”  
“Shut up.”, Leon was shaking with anger.  
There was a heavy pause, while Leon was struggling to say anything else.  
“Just shut up.”, he pulled at his own hair as he only managed to repeat himself. Then he began to pace.  
Another thing that Leon NEVER did. 

Gwaine and Arthur exchanged a look. “As much as I support your wish to take down the Christmas decorations...”, Arthur began, but wasn't sure how to continue.  
“But isn't your reaction a bit extreme?”  
Leon stopped in front of them. Then he clapped his hands together in front of his mouth, as if to contemplate what to say to them next. How to explain himself.  
He usually didn't have to. Because he was quite good at avoiding these situations. But right now, it appears, an explanation was needed.

“I'm tired.”, he said. And he sounded just like he was more than just tired.  
“I'm tired of people telling me I will find someone, that I won't be alone the rest of my life.  
I'm tired of people assuming I've been hurt in the past. I am TIRED of running away from people that will accuse me of hurting THEM, when they force themselves on me!”, Leon was panting with each word. 

Gwaine uncrossed his arms in irritation, while Arthur just opened his mouth. 

“I am not looking for anyone. I PREFER being alone. I have always been that way and at this point I am VERY certain that it's not going to change. And I would be very, very forthcoming of you, if you could make it so that I can walk around the castle without being trapped by your creepy ex under these blasted mistletoes.”, Leon turned back to Gwaine. 

Whose eyes widened extremely at the last sentence. Hurt evident in his eyes. Leon stepped back, already feeling guilty.  
“Margaret likes you?”, Gwaine's eyes searched for something in Leon's face.  
And then – to Leon's absolute horror, he bit his lip, before grinding out a “I'm happy for you.”, which was quite obviously not said with honesty. And which was the opposite of what Leon had wanted him to say.

“Have you listened to a WORD I just said?”, Leon's eye twitched again, his arms flaring in exasperation. 

Gwaine blinked, as if trying to remember Leon's exact words. “Did you just call her creepy?”  
Leon let his arms sink. “Are you serious?”

They stared at each other, both looking ready to throw fists.  
While Arthur just glanced between them.  
“Ok, you two. Stop fighting. Gwaine, you will go and put down your mistletoes. And make sure people can walk through the castle without having to renavigate the routes, should they NOT feel comfortable with the plants. 

Leon. I need you to calm down. Most people like these traditions. And your negativity is bringing down the whole mood of love and comfort that this season is supposed to bring.  
Just because you're frustrated with your love life -”

Leon gaped at him. “I am not frustrated with MY love life. I am frustrated that nobody seems to GET that!”

Arthur sighed again. “Just tell them no, if you're unhappy about it.”  
Leon blinked as realization hit him. He was talking in circles here. They weren't getting it.  
They would never get it. Because they weren't seeing it from his perspective.  
“You know what?”, Leon heaved in a breath and turned towards Gwaine.  
“Don't take them down.”, he ordered and Gwaine stared at him in confusion.  
“But just now you were...”

“I have a different proposal.”, Leon said slowly.  
“Okay?”, Arthur asked, eyebrows raised.  
“I want the two of you -”, he breathed in. “To not kiss a single person, while all these decorations are up.”  
“What?”, both started, but Leon stopped them from interrupting him any further. 

“You go out there, and tell people to leave you alone with the traditions.”

“That is the opposite of what I wanted to -”, Gwaine complained, but again Leon stopped him.  
“If you can do it, I will never again complain about the decorations. Not this year, not next year. I swear it.”, Leon frowned. “I will even kiss everyone I stand under a mistletoe with, if I must. But this year, you do as I usually do.  
You're not allowed to tell anyone why.  
And you have to tell them off, without saying that you like someone else. Or anyone at all.  
You have to turn EVERYONE down.”, Leon pointed at them.  
“No cheating. No kisses. Nothing. Understood?!”

“Why on earth would I -”, Arthur started, but Gwaine spoke up.  
“So, if we do this, I get YOU to kiss me?”  
Gwaine wasn't going to lie. He had often tried to get random knights under a mistletoe. But Leon ALWAYS evaded his attempts. Just one time, he wanted to get the man to kiss him. Not even in a serious way. Gwaine just had a list he wanted to work through.  
Leon's mouth twitched. “If that's what it takes.”  
“Deal.”, Gwaine said and held out his hand for Leon to shake it.

“And I?”, Arthur asked, eyebrows raised. “What do I get?”  
Leon gave him a stern expression.  
“Poetry, my lord.”, he said.  
Arthur's eyes widened. “You wouldn't.”, he said, sounding threatened. While Gwaine looked utterly lost.  
The reason was simple. 

Arthur knew that Leon didn't know what the “poetry-excuse” Merlin and him had used all those years ago, REALLY meant. Which means, should Leon tell anyone – especially Gwaine – the entire Castle would speak of nothing else for weeks to come.  
And Arthur could not deal with that attention. Or reexplaining himself to everyone he talked to. That either he wasn't actually interested in poetry. Or the other - according to Gwaine's earlier statement - more believable explanation. Which was also bound to create the worst kind of rumors. And those would be some that Arthur couldn't deny, because nobody would believe him. 

“I would.”, Leon said, knowing that Arthur didn't know that Leon knew what the poetry-excuse had actually been for.  
“Are you threatening your king?”  
“I'm teaching you a lesson.”, Leon said pointedly.  
“So I don't have a choice.”  
“I'm afraid not, my lord.”, Leon nodded. His face remained monotone at this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of these characters are still learning their lesson.   
> Arthur is catching on a bit faster than Gwaine.  
> Though the entire thing is a bit harder on Arthur, because of merls, obviously.   
> Also, today I thought of something else that is cruel for Leon's reputation. Muahahaha.   
> Anyway, I haven't looked back and I really hope I didn't give George's wife a name until now. Because my head is calling her Karen. Cause she's such a MOM. That's her name now. BTW I love her. That's all you need to know lmao, bye XD

Arthur knew from the very beginning that this bet was a bad idea. He KNEW it wasn't easy to turn people down. As crown prince he had always had trouble keeping people at a certain distance.   
Because even a fling with some stable girl could make the stable girl incredibly rich.   
Even more so, if she were to become pregnant and claimed Arthur to be the father.   
Now that Arthur was king, it was even worse, actually.   
Still. Leon's repulsion by the entire tradition struck him as a bit extreme. 

It was later that afternoon, when Arthur realized just how many people this castle actually had. 

And in addition, how many mistletoes Gwaine had pulled up in the entire Castle.   
Every room, every hall, every alcove, filled with the tiny green twigs.   
Spirit protection was one thing. THIS was madness. 

Arthur had always – in the past years – avoided routes that were covered in mistletoes for similar reasons that Leon did.   
Right now it was impossible to find a route that wasn't occupied by knights, servants or people from the lower town that wanted to 'see' their king at least once. 

“This is going to be worse than I thought.”, Arthur gulped as he tried to walk past a small woman with beautiful blond locks and bright blue eyes.   
She smiled at him all flirtatiously.   
Arthur sighed and was about to do, what he usually did. Namely, kissing the girl politely on the hand.   
But he had a feeling that Leon wouldn't excuse this form of kissing from any other and therefore he'd loose the bet.   
So Arthur swallowed down any guilt and tried to pretend like he hadn't seen her. 

Naturally, he wouldn't get away with that.   
She called out to him. “Sire. Your majesty. What a beautiful day. Oh look at that, a mistletoe.”, she pointed over their heads, not even wasting her precious time to talk around the issue.  
Arthur sighed. This wasn't good.   
“It's bad luck if we don't kiss, you know?”, she said and fluttered her eyelashes at him. Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but then he shook his head.   
“I'm sorry, I have to.... be somewhere. I don't have the time.”, he hushed out and tried to walk past, but she stopped him.   
“Oh please, it will be just a second.”

“I'm sorry. I can't.”, Arthur tried, but she looked disappointed.   
And then, as if she just looked through his facade, her eyes turned soft.  
“There is someone else, isn't there?”, she said and pouted understandingly.   
She was right, but Arthur wasn't allowed to admit that. Merely for a second he wondered why.   
Then he answered while shrugging nervously.  
“I just don't want to kiss you.”, he was neither confirming nor denying her accusation. It was true though. He had no interest in her. 

“Am I -”, she blinked, looking visibly hurt. “Am I not pretty enough?”  
“What? No!”, Arthur gave back, startled by the sudden question. And that was the moment he understood, why he wasn't allowed to blame this on a crush.   
Leon didn't want to kiss anyone. But he DIDN'T have an excuse for it. And Leon didn't want to lie to people.   
“You're really pretty. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.”  
“And yet, it's not enough, is it?”  
“It's not about that.”, Arthur tried, but he already knew it was pointless.   
“No, I understand.”, she frowned. “You could have just said you don't want to kiss me. That would have been the polite way, Sire.”, she said and then turned on her heels and left. 

“But that is...”, Arthur said, but she was already out of earshot. “- exactly what I said.”, he muttered to himself. Then he shook his head and continued on. Needless to say, almost every other confrontation from then on continued almost the exact same way. 

\--------------------------------------------------

“It can't be hard to NOT kiss anyone.”, Gwaine shook his head. Really, this was the easiest bet he's ever went into. Or so he thought. 

At the same time, he tried to understand what was going on in Leon's head.   
Why was the man so mad? Margaret had chosen him! She liked him. Why was he so mad about it?  
And don't say something like, 'but Leon doesn't like her like that', then the man should just square up and tell her so. Also, how dare he not like Margaret! Anyone with eyes would love her soft brown hair, her kind green eyes, her dark skin....  
Gwaine sighed. 

“Hey, Gwaine. How did your talk with Arthur go?”, from somewhere, Lance ran into him.   
Percival, the giant -not very talk active - knight from whatever kingdom was tailing right behind him.   
He was currently listening to Gwen who was trying to encourage him on something.   
It was not clear what they were going on about.   
“Hey, Lance. Gwen, Percy.”, Gwaine smiled at all three of them.   
“Ah yes, it went well. Don't have to take them down.”, he pointed at the mistletoes all around them.

“Wait – you don't?”, Lancelot rose his eyebrows at that. Gwaine shot him fingerguns.   
“Well, the princess does seem to like the idea.”, he said, because he wasn't allowed to tell them about their agreement with Leon.   
Lancelot sighed in exasperation. 

“Well then. So, what now? You want your first kiss from me for today?”, Lancelot grinned and pointed above Gwaine's head. Gwaine's mouth shaped into an 'o' as he stupidly followed the gesture with his eyes.   
And apparently, both Gwen and Percival looked at him in curiosity, but also like they were waiting to be next. They looked completely comfortable with the idea though. 

Gwaine sucked in a breath. “Well, actually, no. Not this time.”, he shook his head, surprising all three of them. Was he imagining it, or was Percival looking slightly disappointed?  
“Actually, “, Gwaine said and rubbed his hands together. “I was thinking of following Leon around for a while.”  
“What? Why? You know Leon doesn't like being tailed.”, Lancelot frowned. “Especially if your only goal is to kiss him.”

“What? That's not my goal.”, Gwaine laughed, while Gwen and Percy exchanged a shocked glance.   
Lancelot didn't look convinced.   
“You like Leon?”, Percival asked, and boy, Gwaine had not expected him to speak up.   
“This isn't about Leon. Well, actually it is. But I already have a foolproof plan for that. I don't need to follow him to get him to kiss me. Platonically.”, Gwaine elaborated and winked at Lance who looked even less convinced now.   
“And how are you getting him to do that?”

“I have natural charm. But that's for later. Apparently, Margaret likes him. And he's complained about HER tailing him. Which is why I need to see what's actually going on between them.”

Lancelot sighed, while Percival whispered something to Gwen, who just pat him on the shoulder.   
“You do that, Gwaine.”, Lance shot Percival an empathetic glance also.   
Then Lance sighed and walked passed Gwaine, followed by his girlfriend and Percy.  
Yeah right, like it was hard to get people to NOT kiss you. This had gone very well.   
But Gwaine, I must tell you, you just turned down the most accepting people of the entire castle. Everyone else will be more difficult. 

Actually, Gwaine realized that the moment he walked by Merlin.   
The servant had just been released from an older looking woman who had pressed a kind kiss to his forehead, as he ran over to Gwaine, laughing heartily at everyone he came across.  
“Hey, Gwaine.”, Merlin said, and without even looking if there was a mistletoe above their heads, he went for Gwaine's right cheek.   
Gwaine, realizing this almost a second too late, immediately pushed Merlin away. 

“I- erm...”, Gwaine said slowly, shocked and relieved that he had JUST managed to stop Merlin from ruining the entire bet he had going with Leon. 

“Is everything okay?”, Merlin asked, sounding very worried.   
“No. I'm sorry. I'm just -”  
“Don't you want a kiss? You always do. I didn't think I needed to ask. Sorry.”, Merlin sounded apologetic.   
“Well, usually you don't have to ask. Just …. not now.”, he ended lamely. 

“Okay.”, Merlin crossed his arms, waiting for Gwaine to elaborate.   
“No, seriously, I'm fine.”  
“You don't seem okay.”, Merlin pointed out.   
“What, because I say no to a kiss ONE time?”, Gwaine chuckled, but instantly started to feel nervous.   
“Is this because of Margaret? Dude, you have to move on. I promise, things will be better soon.”

“What, no!”, Gwaine almost laughed. Wasn't this almost the exact same thing he had said to Leon?  
'Just because you're frustrated with his love life...'  
But Gwaine had planned to drown his sadness out with getting his needed affection from everyone else. He's had many relationships. Break ups were never easy. But he had learned how to move on long ago.   
He still liked Margaret, it was the sole reason he was trying to find Leon. But only to make sure that Leon treated her right, not to get her back! What's over is over.  
She made her choice. Gwaine couldn't convince her to feel different. 

Merlin, however, looked at him with so much empathy, that for a moment, he felt pathetic about himself.   
Which wasn't a feeling he was supposed to feel.   
He was fine, really. But now that he thought he felt fine, the words itself didn't SOUND believable. Even though they were the truth. 

“I have my reasons, okay?”, Gwaine said, almost defensively, but Merlin's expression turned even sadder.   
“Hey, it will get better. I promise. You sure you don't want a kiss? Just on the cheek?”  
“I'm sure.”, Gwaine said dreadfully.   
“Okay.”, Merlin patted him on the shoulder. Then he walked passed him, only turning for one moment to wave at him. 

Gwaine stood there like a horse had stomped him into the ground.   
He had been fine only a minute ago.   
Right now he felt hurt. Merlin's reaction wasn't reasonable. It made no sense. Gwaine was fine, he really was. He could manage. He didn't need Merlin to feel bad for him.   
Just because he turned down a single kiss? ONE time?  
At the same time – which was even worse – he felt guilty.   
Guilty for …. for what exactly?  
For denying Merlin the kiss? Merlin had looked a bit disappointed.   
Gwaine had never felt this way before. He had never rejected a harmless kiss up until today.

“Urgh, this is ridiculous. If Leon feels like this bad all the time, why doesn't he just kiss people, if they want him to do it?!”, he muttered under his breath.   
“Would be easier for everyone involved. Just get over yourself and man up.”

\-----------------------------------------------------

“Is this really necessary?” George had just entered Leon's chambers, when he saw the man burning a whole set of mistletoes that were hanging in his room.   
How Gwaine had managed to get in here, when Leon usually locked the doors, who knew. Maybe it hadn't even been him. But never the less, Leon needed a safe place in this castle.   
At least his own chambers should be mistletoe free. 

But that wasn't the only thing that seemed off about Leon. Leon had put on commoner clothes. Some old rags he had requested from George's wife a few years ago. For exactly such situations.   
He had cut his hair shorter. And somehow he had managed to dye it. Whatever he had done to it somehow made it look reddish brown. Which was probably not the effect he had wanted to go for. 

“If I can pass as a commoner, at least half the people in this castle will leave me alone.”, Leon explained determinedly.   
“I thought you wanted Arthur to get the decorations down.”  
“It was Gwaine. And yes, I did. But now I'm teaching them a lesson, so the mistletoes have to stay.”  
“I still think you're being dramatic.”, George said pointedly. 

“Maybe.”, Leon turned around and sighed. “Or maybe everyone else is just insane with their desperate wish to find their soulmates.”

George didn't change his expression at all, but he closed the door anyway and turned towards Leon.   
“You look like you could need some time off.”, he said and nodded at him.   
Leon turned to him suspiciously. “What are you suggesting?”  
“I may have heard that some rats are loose in the dungeons.”  
Leon's eyes widened with something akin to childish curiosity.   
“Isn't Kilgharrah scared of rats?”  
George grinned back. “Exactly.”  
Leon's earlier panicked face relaxed into something shamelessly amused. “Have I ever told you, I love you, George?”

“Only every day since I was thirteen.”, George's grin widened as he walked over and clapped Leon on the shoulder.   
“You really are a god sent. Really, I mean it.”, Leon said, relief evident in both his voice and expression. 

“I know, I know. Say that again, when I made you get the Christmas trees for the throne room.”  
“Oh, shit.”, Leon's fun painted face fell ever so slightly. “I don't have to pass the frozen lake again, do I?”  
“I'm afraid so.”  
“I take it back, I hate you so much right now.”, Leon said, but his voice held no edge to them.   
Again, George shook his head at him. “That too, you've been telling me every day since I was thirteen.”

Laughing and joking, they made their way out the knight's chamber.   
And to Leon's happy surprise, his disguise did actually work on a good number of people. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“There are too many mistletoes, omg.”, Merlin was laughing as he finally returned to Arthur's chambers. Where the prince had been hiding ever since that morning. Which was probably one of the smartest decision's he's ever made. 

However, he should have had more foresight and put down the mistletoes from his desk.   
Instead, Merlin looked down on them for a minute and then looked almost expectantly at Arthur.   
Arthur stared at Merlin. Then the mistletoes. Then Merlin again. 

“Sire?”, Merlin just looked down, not even attempting to approach Arthur on the subject. Like he was oblivious to these things.   
Obliviousness. THAT was a great strategy. If Arthur just pretended he hadn't seen all those mistletoes or romantic advances...

Wait a second.   
Of all the people Arthur had ever considered oblivious to romantic advances, that had been Leon.   
Leon didn't know the implications of poetry.  
Leon was the one who never seemed to realize when anyone was flirting with him. Except this morning he had been very much aware of everything. Apparently.  
Like he just knew it, when people liked him THAT way.   
Holy shit, Leon did that on purpose. It WAS a strategy! Leon wasn't oblivious, he was just outsmarting those who dared to have a crush on him.   
Honestly the guy was full of surprises lately.   
How hadn't Arthur noticed that sooner?

“What is it Merlin?”  
“Don't you think the Christmas decorations this year are a bit.... eccentric?”, Merlin said and waved at the mistletoes, clearly waiting for something. 

And because Arthur was an idiot, he said: “I'm not going to kiss you.”  
Truth be told, he panicked.   
Merlin blinked in confusion. “I wasn't going to force you to.”, Merlin laughed.   
“I know you're bad with affection. I assume, a hug would also be too much to ask?”

Arthur stared at him. And immediately regretted ever opening his mouth.   
“Don't be stupid, Merlin. I'm not afraid of hugs. I just don't really feel comfortable about it.”  
“I know, I know.”, Merlin shook his head in mock amusement.   
“I just thought, since there are so ridiculously many mistletoes all over this place.”  
“That was Gwaine's idea.”, Arthur hurried to tell him. 

Merlin tilted his head. “Gwaine? Why would he do that? I just walked past him. He didn't seem very eager to kiss anyone.”  
“That's because...”, Arthur tried, and then he remembered that he wasn't allowed to tell.   
He shook his head. 

“Because what?”, Merlin asked. And he leaned over Arthur's table, just centimeters away from his face. His eyes were wide with curiosity and in his pupils Arthur could make out the reflection of dozens of mistletoes.   
It was so tempting..... to just....  
Arthur leaned back in his chair, pretending not to see. Pretending not to want, while his heart was leaping in his chest. 

“Gwaine is having a phase.”, Arthur said.   
“Ah.”, Merlin said and leaned back in something that made Arthur believe was disappointment. 

“Well, I can imagine Leon will be pissed.”, Merlin chuckled.   
Arthur looked up at that. “Oh, he is.”, he agreed.   
“You could at least have left him some routes so he can avoid being cornered by every other knight or servant. He's surprisingly popular for someone who can reject people so rashly.”

“Well, do you know what exactly his problem is with kisses? And Romance and stuff?”  
Merlin chuckled.   
“Well, he told me he feels trapped when people just come his way and demand affection.   
It's not Leon's fault that he's not interested. But people tend to …. ignore that. And try to manipulate him to follow their demands.”  
“He could just tell them no.”, Arthur tried, but he could already imagine what good that would do.   
“Leon hates making people feel bad about it. Also most people don't really accept a no.   
Have you seen Margaret? She's been following him around ever since she broke up with Gwaine. And Leon hasn't had a calm minute since.   
I doubt that it's fun having to reject people like that. Especially when his rejections are just being ignored.”

“He could just lie and pretend he'd have a girlfriend or something though.”, Arthur argued and made Merlin sigh.   
“It's not that easy, Arthur. If he told people he had a girlfriend, at some point they'd want to see her.   
And even if he managed to convince them of that, they'd be pestering him about details of their relationship. OR, what's even worse, they'd say something like, all his rejections before had been a phase. And he could be convinced into a relationship and that his feelings before weren't valid at all. That's just not fair. Leon should be free to develop his feelings on his own. And if he's NEVER okay with a relationship, then they should respect that too.   
It's his life. He should be allowed to make his own choices without being criticized for feeling the way he does.”

Arthur blinked. “How come you're so knowledgeable?”, he asked albeit a bit irritated.   
Merlin shrugged. “I talk to George sometimes.”

“What has George to do with this?”  
“He's Leon's best friend?”  
Arthur blinked again. Maybe it was him, maybe it was the author who just really liked the image of people blinking at each other. Or their lack of knowing other descriptive images. ***  
“Leon has a best friend? And he chose GEORGE of all people?”  
“George and Leon are both practically married to their jobs. They have a lot in common. And Leon has been friends with the seamstress since they were children.”  
“The seamstress?”, Arthur asked cluelessly. 

“Seriously, Arthur. Pay attention to your staff. Yes. Karen. George's wife?”  
“George is MARRIED?”  
Now that was a surprise. Arthur hadn't thought the man was capable of having long lasting relationships. Let alone a marriage.   
“Arthur, he's been asking for a few days off for weeks now. Because she'll go into labor soon.”  
“George is going to be a father.”, Arthur deadpanned. 

Merlin threw up his hands. “YES! Which is ANOTHER reason why Leon's been so upset lately. People are starting to gossip who the REAL father is. Since George is usually busy with work and Leon is out there rejecting everyone, or hanging out with Karen.   
It's not very respectful towards either of them. But the word is out there.   
All three of them are really stressed about it.”

“Leon never said anything about that.”, Arthur muttered.   
“And why would he? To spread the lies?”, Merlin shook his head. “The less people are aware of the gossip, the more likely it is that they go away.”

“Shit.”, Arthur muttered. “No wonder he's so upset.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *** lmao XD Sorry, I just noticed my phrases are getting very repetitive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so..... this will be dreadful at first. Then shocking. Then annoying again.   
> And THEN we get to the fluff part. Enjoy :)

Leon and George were followed by no less then two people.   
First and foremost, Margaret, who was still trying to talk to Leon alone. Leon was somehow dressed down as a commoner. He looked ridiculous with those rags as clothes, a shaven face and brown hair.   
Hardly anyone paid them any attention, thinking Leon was just another servant.   
Which the knight seemed to be very thankful for. 

But they weren't fooling Margaret, who was fuming with jealousy. She had put her soft brown hair into a bun, to appear more serious and mature. Probably to appear more interesting to Leon.  
That was just something that Gwaine noticed, when was following after her. 

However, that didn't prepare him for when they reached the entrance to the dungeons.   
What on earth were Leon and George doing down in the dungeons?  
Margaret seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she stopped a second, before she as well hurried down the stairs.   
Slowly, hoping they weren't causing any loud echoes, they followed the two men into the darkness of what was supposed to have been abandoned years ago. 

Don't get this wrong, Margaret wasn't aware she was being followed.  
She would be properly creeped out by it. Which is quite ironic, if you ask me. 

Either way, soon enough they reached something that looked a lot like a giant cave. And if it wasn't odd enough that from somewhere a light source illuminated the entire place, you could hear someone stomping and shouting. There shouldn't be any living creature down here. Who was that?  
That voice did not sound familiar.  
And soon after the flapping of wings and a deep growl emerged from said creature. That was not a human sound.   
Whatever this was, Gwaine was instantly on high alert and immediately hid behind the next rock that was big enough to hide him from view.   
However, it also stopped him from seeing anything himself. 

It didn't take long, before he recognized the two people laughing as George and Leon by their voice.  
Until a high pitched screaming interrupted the otherwise pretty dark atmosphere. And cut the laughter off abruptly. 

“Margaret?”, Gwaine hear Leon ask, almost scandalized.   
Only then did Gwaine dare to look over the rock that he had been hiding behind. And his eyes immediately widened at the weird scenery in front of him.   
Somewhere in the air was a motherfucking dragon, spitting fire at something on the ground and yelling at it... where those rats?  
George and Leon stood before that odd picture, and maybe that was what they had been laughing at.  
Which was so absurd, that Gwaine had to look twice to make sure it's really them.

Margaret, however, had fallen to the ground and stared at the Dragon and then at Leon with nothing less than fear in her expression.   
“Leon...”, George was putting a calming hand on his friend's shoulder, but Leon just rubbed his face with his free hand. 

“What are you doing here.”, Leon sounded dreadful. He didn't really ask for it. His amusement from earlier was gone immediately. 

Margaret was stuttering and stumbling over her words, and Leon made no attempt to help her up.   
Gwaine gritted his teeth at the sight.   
“I.... I was just...”  
“Stalking me.”, Leon finished her sentence. He didn't look happy at all.   
“I wasn't trying to. I just meant... I -”  
“You followed me. Without me knowing. What the HELL is your problem?”, Leon stepped forward and he looked almost threatening in the dim light.   
He was not aware of that though. 

“Leon, please.”, George tried to stop him.   
“What are we supposed to do with her? She shouldn't be here! She's going to ruin everything we've worked for. And it's my fault. For not shaking her off! For not noticing her.”, Leon turned to him, suddenly appearing pained. 

“Ruin? Ruin what? Can't you SEE the dragon?”, Margaret pointed behind him. 

“He's chained. Don't worry about him.”, Leon waved it off. “Now tell me why you're here.”  
Margaret still sat there, before she answered shyly. But not because of what she was going to say, but because of the irritatingly amusing scene behind her.   
Kilgharrah was currently trying to hiss the rats away. Which didn't work, but looked frightening to those who didn't know Kilgharrah. Meaning that Gwaine flinched at the sound.

“Because I ...”, she swallowed heavily. “This really isn't the place to...”, she said and then closed her eyes, as Leon crossed his arms. “We should get out of here.”, she said.  
“No place for what!”, Leon demanded.  
“For a confession.”, she blushed, but shuffled further back to gain some distance between her and the dragon.   
Leon's eyes narrowed even further. “You should go.”, he said. “And keep this to yourself, or else we may have a problem.” 

“Don't threaten her.”, George commented, but Leon ignored him.   
“I love you.”, Margaret finally brought out, but Leon's expression didn't shift at all.   
“No you don't.”, he stated. As if he had known she would say that. As if he wasn't even remotely surprised by it.  
“You can't decide that!”, she suddenly fumed, but Leon finally walked towards her and pulled her to her feet. 

“You don't love me. If you did, you'd respect my privacy. You'd respect that I don't feel the same. Hell, you don't even know me.   
You're infatuated with me. There is a difference.   
You have low self esteem and you're trying to compensate by making the least available person in the castle fall for you. And now you're disappointed in yourself, because you're failing horribly.”

A gust of wind passed by, as Gwaine's mouth dropped by the bold rejection. 'Okay', the part of Gwaine's brain who remembered the reason why they had come here in the first place stated to him. 'He HAS rejected her. It doesn't sound like it's the first time either. And it's a VERY clear rejection.'

Margaret was rendered speechless.   
“I just want to be loved!”, her lips were trembling.   
“You were loved.”, Leon stated as a matter of fact. “And you turned him away.”

“You mean Gwaine.”, she half spat out his name. But not in vain, but in disbelieve.   
“Gwaine loves EVERYONE. He flirts with everyone, right in front of me. Like I wasn't enough!   
I deserve BETTER!”  
Gwaine felt like she had slapped him. Leon's eyes widened in a similar way and then he ran a hand over his face for the second time since they got here.  
“You're an idiot, do you know that.”, Leon said tiredly. 

“I'm right.”, Margaret pouted. “Gwaine is nice and all, but he's not -”  
“You're right that Gwaine falls in love easily, yes.”, Leon rolled his eyes, while Gwaine just shrunk back behind the rock, his heart breaking into pieces. He knew that Margaret was over him, but did she have to talk about him so harshly?  
Was he really that bad of a boyfriend?

“He never cheats. He always goes full force into relationships, that's why he's so bad at dealing with breakups.   
Out of hundreds of people he could have chosen to love, he chose you. You could have talked to him about the things that concern you. He would have listened. And he would have done his best to adjust to that. Just to please you. And you threw that away for what? Someone who doesn't wanna be with you?   
You don't deserve better. He does.”  
Margaret stared at Leon like HE had slapped HER. He had stepped back now, crossing his arms in annoyance. Like he was challenging her to badmouth one of his friends again.   
Leon, however, felt weirdly comforted by Leon's comment. 

“Gwaine didn't choose to love me! People don't choose who they fall in love with.”, she growled back.   
“No.”, Leon agreed. “And yet here we are, you following me, because you're hoping I'll change my mind.”  
Margaret paused with disbelieve.   
“That's cause you're young, you don't even know what you want yet. I can FIX you, I promise. You just haven't-”  
“Found the right person yet? Wow, I haven't heard THAT one before.”, Leon was staring at her blankly. Not hurt, but annoyed. 

“Listen.”, Margaret sounded desperate. But Leon interrupted her.  
“I'm NOT going to CHANGE!”. And then, as if the devil himself had possessed her, she grabbed for his hand, forcing Leon to walk backwards.

“What part of no don't you -”

To explain what happened next, you must understand the outlines of that cave first.   
Because they were standing just where Merlin always visited the cave.   
None of them knew that, of course.  
Point is, they were standing on top of a small cliff.   
Yes, you could see the rats that Kilgharrah was still trying to evade from here. But that doesn't change the fact that ten feet were ten feet.   
And falling of that cliff was bound to be a very bad idea. 

But Leon, who had been walking backwards and not been able to stop his own reaction from trying to evade Margaret, stepped over the edge.  
Margaret, who was still grabbing for his hand, was dragged behind because of Leon's weight and his last attempt to hold on to something. 

His eyes widened as he realized his mistake.

It was only a moment, but Gwaine stopped breathing as the two figures disappeared into the dark. A second later you could hear a dump sound echoing in the cave as something hit the ground.   
That was also the moment that the Dragon noticed their presence.   
Gwaine froze, unable to process what was happening, as the Dragon now flew towards Leon and Margaret. 

George had his mouth cupped with both hands, as he looked over the edge, clearly shook by the turn of events.   
But not as shaken as someone in his position should be. His best friend just fell of a cliff! He should be panicking.  
Like Gwaine was. 

“Shit.”, he heard George mutter. And then from down below, he could make out Margaret's screaming.   
So, she was alive at least.   
“Oh god, Leon!”, she shouted between sobs. But Leon didn't answer.   
Gwaine's blood froze in his veins.   
George cursed again and then he walked away from the cliff. Gwaine ran after him, almost about to shout at him for just abandoning them down there with the dragon, but then he realized that George was taking the stairs DOWNWARDS. 

That that meant that George was down here often enough to know every corner of the cave, briefly crossed Gwaine's mind. But he ignored it in favor of following him.

His pulse, is breathing unbearably hard.   
Leon couldn't have just died.   
That was not ….  
Leon survived EVERYTHING! 

But when they finally reached the two bodies, Margaret was bending over Leon, face pale as she was desperately searching for a pulse.   
By her panicked expression, Gwaine could tell that she wasn't finding any. ****

Leon's eyes stared glassy onto the ceiling and he looked like he had broken his spine upon crashing down.   
His head was scalped open by the rock he had fallen on.   
Margaret on the other hand was unharmed. The blood on her hands was Leon's. 

“Gwaine?”, Margaret whispered Gwaine's name as she noticed him and only now did George turn around. Alas, more shocked to see Gwaine being here than Leon being dead.   
He shook his head and immediately heaved Leon's head off the rock. Like that would do anything now. 

“I …. Leon – he saved me!”, Margaret cried out. “I landed on him! I'm so sorry. It's my fault”  
It was her fault. But not that part.

“George, Sir Leon? what the hell are you doing here?”, a loud voice suddenly echoed over them. And when Gwaine looked up, he saw the dragon staring down at them.   
The moment felt so bizarre that Gwaine fell to the ground, his knees giving up on him. 

“He can't hear you.”, George commented. Completely ignoring the fact that the magical creature was talking to him. A magical creature, mind you, that was NOT supposed to be able to talk.  
“I know that. I don't care. Were the rats your idea or his, George? Who was it?  
As soon as I get out of here...”  
“You need us, so please shut up for a second. It was a kitchen maid anyway. You can shout at Leon when he gets out of limbo.”, George rolled his eyes. 

Margaret's sobbing stopped as she stared at George. Gwaine followed her example.   
“When he gets out?”, he asked and George sighed tiredly.   
It was then that they noticed a silver glowing coming from Leon's wound. A small crack and his spine readjusted itself.   
“What the hell?”, Gwaine asked, as Leon closed his eyes and started breathing.  
His chest unmistakably heaving up and down.   
But there was something else that changed. Leon's hair suddenly turned back to a dirty blond. They grew out as well, as did his beard. And his facial features turned younger. Or was that just their imagination?*****

When he opened his eyes again, they were shining silver for just a second and then he sat up.   
Margaret, who was shivering still, moved away from him. Understandably. Her eyes were wide and tears were still falling down, but she was gaping like a fish.   
Unable to scream or say anything.   
“Gwaine?”, Leon suddenly said and stared at the man in front of him. Gwaine choked on his response. 

“What the HELL are you doing here?”, Leon asked. Now suddenly panicking with the realization how many witnesses he had.

“You just died.”, Gwaine said, voice cracking at the words.   
Leon sighed and he ran his hand through his hair to return it with lots of blood on it.   
“I can see that.”, he said unimpressed.   
“You two just HAD to follow me, didn't you!”, he added.   
The Dragon above them just cackled.   
“Sir Leon, you surely are the least lucky person I have ever met.”, he said. 

Gwaine slowly turned his head to him, unsure what to make of the fact that this Dragon was amused by their situation. It – He had been angry before. Now he acted like it was all a joke.   
“Thanks for the observation, you stupid bastard.” Since when did Leon curse?  
“And you will continue to suffer for all eternity.”, the Dragon reassured him.  
“Thank you for reminding me. Now shut up.”, Leon shot back.

“You're immortal.”, Gwaine finally said, realization hitting him that this wasn't the first time that this had happened to Leon. It couldn't be. Not the way both him and George were reacting to it. Or rather.... NOT reacting to it.  
“Hey, I already have THIS smart mouth to listen to. Don't follow his example.”, Leon pointed at Kilgharrah, but remained seated.   
“But-”  
“No buts. I'm done talking. George, do me a favor, and you go explain. I'm so DONE.”  
Leon lay back on the ground, ignoring the blood he was leaning on and closed his eyes. 

George looked annoyed, but he complied anyway.   
And then he told them that Leon was four hundred and something years old. That he had served under king Bruta ****** as a squire, just before Camelot was build.   
He became friends with the king back then and was also friends with Cornelius Sigan. A warlock who DID build Camelot. 

However, the warlock, who was said to be the strongest sorcerer who ever walked the earth (until Merlin that is, but George didn't mention that), was obsessed with immortality.   
He wanted to outlive his pears. He wanted to live forever, so he experimented with souls and lives and even the cup of life itself. (Jokes on you. The fisher king didn't need any of that to live much longer than you did.)

One of his lab rats happened to be Leon. The young man who did help him construct a plan for the outlines of the castle. When Sigan used his magic on Leon, Leon had been unaware of it. And to test if he was actually immortal, or even feeling remotely different, Sigan killed him.   
Leon died that day. Sigan thought he failed and changed his approach on his experiments.   
Leon woke up just the day he was supposed to be buried.   
He was lucky enough to get out of the grave before he woke up underground.   
Then he left Camelot for what he thought would be forever.

He spend some time with the druids. Then with Dragon lords and other magical creatures, sorcerers and the like. But he didn't survive long. He died again two years later as bandits overthrew the druid camp he had been staying in at the time.   
For the first time, he woke up in a pile of corpses.   
That was the second time he died and yet he still believed he had been lucky. The third time he died, he found himself waking up again and again under water.   
Suffocating and drowning each time. And when he got out, four days later, the people who had tried to drown him, were freaking out on his stubborn survival. 

He had been on a ship to reach foreign lands to see the world. But the crew had blamed him for some kind of sickness that had befallen them. And therefore tried to kill him.   
Leon knew from that day on, that he couldn't die.   
He had been stabbed, beheaded, burned and drowned. And nothing stuck.   
He woke up again, each time.   
His body reverting back to the way it was on the day that he first experienced death. 

Hundreds of years later, he went back to Camelot, hoping to find some calm in a farmers life. He lived there until he aged to the apparent year of sixty.  
But then a civil war emerged and commoners were asked to serve as knights for the king. 

The commoners who swore loyalty to their king were rewarded with the status of nobility.   
The man who granted them this honor was no other than Uther Pendragon.   
Leon grew to like him when the man was still young and inexperienced.   
Leon didn't have to fight much after the war was over, which he miraculously survived without any casualties.   
And then, years after Arthur was born, Leon died again, killed by a magical creature. 

His body reverted to 25. And he pretended to be a descended of his former self.   
Which... people didn't buy at first, because his old self had been as interested in people as he was today, but he pretended to be his own nephew, so that was fine again.   
He had the royal seal and all and Uther bought it easily enough. 

When George finished the tale, both Gwaine and Margaret shared a look. None of them had dared to interrupt the servant. Too invested in this unbelievable story to really question any of it's logistics. 

It was quiet for a while.   
“I serve Arthur now, like I served his father. But Arthur is MUCH more like king Bruta was. They are both just and kind and want peace for all of Albion.   
They are both also very irritating, but that's more amusing than an actual problem.”, Leon added, just to make sure they knew he wasn't an impostor. *(7)

Gwaine opened his mouth and exhaled. Actually, this all made sense. Only minutes ago, Gwaine had said that Leon survived everything. Now he knew why that was. 

“So this entire time.... you were THAT old?”, Margaret said.   
Leon, who had his eyes closed the entire time, now opened them and just.... stared. Not at her, not even at the ceiling. His eyes were glassy and focused on something unidentifiable.   
“Am I... am I just too young? Or was your past so traumatizing? Where you married before? Do you miss her still?”, she looked empathetic again. 

“THAT'S your priority right now? Are you serious? You LITERALLY just killed me!”, Leon finally shot her a look.   
“No. I was NOT married. I have always been like this and I may have changed a lot in four hundred years. But that part never did. So please, stop.”

Margaret blushed. “But you protected me when we fell.”, she argued.   
Leon blinked. “Because I'm immortal and you're NOT!”, his eye twitched.   
“Seriously, what is wrong with you? What part of no don't you understand? Even if I was interested in anyone, you'd be the LAST person I'd want to be with, because you keep overstepping lines!  
You don't listen. You just keep pestering me for no reason.   
And yes, I am traumatized. And I AM miserable. But I'm not lonely. And I am not unloved. I have a family who respects me the way I am. And don't need any more than that. And I don't want it either.  
What's traumatizing to me are people like you, who think they have a right to interfere with my life decisions.”, he paused. “Apart from being killed over and over again.   
But you can't fix what isn't broken. If there's anything out there MAKING me miserable, it's you. Right now. ”

It was quiet, until the dragon snorted at that. “Naw, someone likes you, Leon.”, the dragon coed.   
Leon rolled his eyes.   
“Nobody asked you, Kilgharrah.”  
The dragon cackled again. 

Margaret however looked like someone had tried to stab her.   
“But-”, she began, but this time it was Gwaine who interrupted her. “Margaret, it's not worth it. Just leave him alone.”  
Margaret turned to Gwaine. “This has nothing to do with you. Keep out of it.”

Gwaine raised his eyebrows in surprise.   
“Okay.”, he shrugged and turned back to Leon. Ignoring Margaret's reaction.   
Because in the turn of events that had been this conversation, Gwaine had realized a few things about his ex. Things that had never concerned him, because he had always been completely on board with giving her what she wanted.   
But right now he realized that on top of that cliff, she had more or less tried to force herself on Leon.   
She had disrespected Gwaine by talking about him like he wasn't enough and Leon, because she ignored his rejections. And though he could understand how she felt, her actions were wrong. And her insistence on getting what she wanted was even worse.   
Half an hour ago, he still had some feelings for her, because she broke up with him. And he had loved her with all his heart. But right now, he himself felt disgusted by her presence.   
So he turned to Leon, the guy who this was actually all about.

“SO...... you're immortal, huh.”, he stated as calm as one could in this situation.

\-----------------------------------------------

“Look, a mistletoe.”, someone said from the side and Arthur sighed upon turning to said person.   
But.... he wasn't the one standing underneath it. 

He had been walking around, trying to get away from the mistletoes and asked Merlin to accompany him to the stables, so they could have a calm ride out.   
However, even the stables were full of the green mistletoes that at this point, were more of torture devices. 

So the guy standing underneath the mistletoe, the guy who was informed of their position, was Merlin. Of course. Again, him.   
The stable girl looked at Merlin with a slight blush.   
Her hands were trembling a little, as though she was very nervous. Which she didn't really have to be. She was much younger than them. Almost a child.   
But her girl friends behind the small walls to the next horse were chuckling and giggling in her direction. 

Arthur groaned inwardly.   
“Oh yes, you're right. I haven't noticed.”, Merlin shot Arthur a look, but the king pointedly looked away as soon as their eyes met.   
'I really can't do this much longer.', Arthur thought and fought the urge to just give up and let Leon spread the words about their poetry session.   
Which hadn't been a poetry session. But also wasn't what a fake poetry session would otherwise imply to be. 

Merlin bend down to her and pointed at his cheek. The girl blushed even further, but soon she did as she was allowed to and kissed Merlin.   
It was just a small thing and Arthur knew it was a child like crush and it was totally adorable. But he felt jealous anyway.   
Not because she kissed Merlin. That too, but mostly because she was brave enough to do so.   
Arthur envied her courage. And wasn't that a fun thought, because Arthur was known for his own bravery?

Arthur shook his head at the thought and went to ready a horse.   
And then another teenager looked at him, something akin to amusement on her face as she pointed at yet another mistletoe at the ceiling above him.   
Arthur blinked down at the child. Who was doing this for fun. Who wasn't even serious.   
And yet....  
“I 'm sorry, I can't.”, Arthur said and sighed, turning to the next horse as he had intended to. 

The fun fell from the child's face and embarrassed, they apologized and left. 

Arthur felt... awful.   
This was just a child. Just a kid. It didn't even mean anything. It's like kissing a dog or something. It's meant in the most platonic way. And they weren't even complaining about his rejection. They just... felt bad for even asking. It had been humor, but because of Arthur it sounded serious all of a sudden.  
And he wondered, if Leon felt like this about everyone.

“Oh come on, Arthur. It's just a child. Why not?”, Merlin asked. And Arthur paused in his movements.   
Why not. A good question. Or was the answer, 'BECAUSE it's a child?'  
Or would THAT be weird?  
Kissing a child.... bad image. Not kissing them, when they asked for it.... also bad image.  
Arthur frowned. This was more difficult than he thought.

“First Gwaine and now you? I know you're usually averse to hugs and stuff like that, but this?   
It doesn't seem like you. I thought you were fine with it?”, Merlin said and Arthur let his shoulders slump, before he turned to Merlin again.   
“Maybe -”, he said and he really had no excuse other than this: “Maybe I just don't want to.”  
He looked at Merlin, whose eyes were wide, before they blinked and he stepped back a little.

“I'm sorry.”, Merlin said and bit his lip. “I-”  
He sighed. “It's not my business what you're okay with and what not. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry.”

Well and now Arthur felt EVEN WORSE.   
He couldn't do this. Not now, not anymore. The children/teenagers had backed off, but they looked apologetic for no reason. Yet, Arthur felt like they were too many witnesses. 

“Merlin, follow me.”, Arthur said and walked out the stable without even taking a horse out.   
Merlin was frozen in place, irritated at Arthur's behavior, but he as soon as he regained consciousness, he followed him anyway.   
Arthur walked fast, past the trees, past the road to some place where he knew they wouldn't be followed. Where they would be alone. 

Just when they had reached such a clearing, Merlin began asking questions again.   
“Where are we going-”  
“Stop here.”, Arthur turned around and Merlin almost ran into him. The clumsy servant barely managed to stop, inches away from Arthur's face. So, naturally, he took a step back. But Arthur grabbed for his wrist to stop him from distancing himself even further. 

“I have a deal with Leon.”, he began and Merlin immediately blanked. Not at all expecting this conversation.   
“He's been annoyed with Gwaine and me, because we happen to not understand his problem with mistletoes as well as he liked.   
So he told us to not kiss anyone under a mistletoe. At all. Ever.”

“So THAT'S why. Why didn't you -”

“We're not allowed to tell the real reason. We're not allowed to say there is someone we like. We're just not allowed to.”, Arthur breathed heavily, like he had just run a mile. 

“Wait... so you just... broke the deal? Oh fuck, sorry. I didn't -”  
“Merlin, just shut up for one second.”  
Merlin blinked, but snapped his jaw shut. 

“The point is... It's hard. It's so much harder than I thought. I get it now. And I know I lost the bet now, because I told you, but -   
Honestly, I'm kind of relieved now.”, Arthur sighed and shot Merlin a smile.   
Merlin grinned back at him uncertainly. 

And only when it was clear that Arthur was finished talking, Merlin opened his mouth again.   
“So now what?”, he bit his lip.   
“Now...”, Arthur shifted in his position and finally let go of Merlin's hand.   
“If you don't mind...”, he started, his heart hammering in his chest. “I had to ignore a lot of mistletoes I stood under today. I think I kinda have to make up for lost time. Don't you think?”

Merlin blinked at him and frowned. “You were avoiding them all day. I was the only one who was ….”, Merlin's eyes snapped open.   
“May I?”, Arthur looked into Merlin's awestruck face and came closer.   
Merlin looked.... overwhelmed. “You want to …. kiss me.”, he said, his voice faster than usual.   
“Been thinking about it all day.”, Arthur admitted, finally. Because he had already come this far, there was no point in denying it now. 

Merlin flushed red. “You mean like... on the mouth?”  
“Merlin, you're stalling. Can I snog the hell out of you now, or not? Because the suspense is literally killing me.”

Merlin blinked, then grinned a lopsided grin. “Of course you can.”  
And ironically, it was Merlin who leaned in to kiss Arthur this time. And honestly, Arthur had no right to be so surprised. But here he was, almost flinching away, when he was being kissed by the man he loved. Right on the mouth, where his lips freaking belonged. And his hands immediately wrapped around him, because what else was he supposed to do with them?  
NOT hug Merlin? What gave you THAT idea? Ridiculous, really.  
I will not go into detail. Let's just say they didn't return from the woods until much later that evening.   
And ignore that it was snowing and freezing outside. Thank you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **** If someone's immortal, I have to kill them at least once in a story. That's just a rule. Please don't judge me, lmao. Originally, I wanted Leon to kill himself, because he was so done.   
> But I thought this is more dramatic.   
> ***** it's not their imagination. Leon ages normally, like every other human does as well. But every time he dies, his body reverses into the state it had when he turned immortal.   
> Don't look at me, I didn't make that up, it's just a fact that came to me while writing this. Writing is weird. 
> 
> ****** I realized while writing this that the origin story of Camelot was FAR longer ago than 400 years, according to the Merlin wiki. But once again, I ignored that.
> 
> *(7) yes, this is an among us meme


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gwaine is finally getting it :) And finally some Pergwaine moments ^^ YES

They all left he dungeons more or less wiser than before. Leon was walking slowly, leaning on George for comfort and trying to hide his bloody head from view of random witnesses, by hiding behind the servant. It was a strange sight to behold.   
But it seemed to be working somehow.   
“Aren't you.... okay again?”

“I always need a while o regain my energy. It's really not fun to feel like this.”, Leon answered slowly and closed his eyes for a second.   
“I'll inform the king that you had to take the day of.”, George muttered. But Leon only nodded, as if this was normal procedure.   
Only that this side note was soon fully ignored, when a disheveled looking Gwen ran their way.   
“George, there you are!”, the maid said, completely out of breath.   
“Guinevere. How may I help you?”, George straightened and forced Leon to stop as well. 

“It's Karen.”, was all she needed to say. She looked panicked, but in an excited way. A worried but yet bright smile plastered her lips and she needed no further words to get the meaning across.   
George gaped at her, then he looked at Leon, who was currently in no condition to run.   
“Go.”, Leon sighed at him.  
“It's your wife. Your child. They need you. I'll follow after, but it will take some time. I promise, I will be there.”

George didn't say anything. He just nodded and mouthed a 'thank you' before running after Gwen. Who turned around as well. Together they sped down the hall. Only at the end, they parted. Probably, because Gwen was running to inform Gaius as well. The court physician was now just as needed as Gwen was.  
Their steps echoed in the empty hall.

Gwaine and Margaret stared after them, while Leon heaved a deep breath and slid down the next wall to calm down a little.   
“Are you sure, you'll be fine?”

“I certainly won't die from it.”, Leon replied and rolled his eyes.   
Gwaine just blinked. “Did you just use sarcasm?”  
Leon grinned up at him, but didn't bother to answer. 

Margaret however was shifting in her position.   
“I didn't know George was married.”, she bit her lip as she commented this. 

“I didn't know Karen was pregnant.”, Gwaine said, because he did know Karen. But only briefly. He sometimes walked by her little tailor shop.  
“Not for much longer.”, Leon commented. 

“She's in labor? NOW? Speak about timing.”, Gwaine muttered.   
“And she chose George over you?”, Margaret asked. But Leon's eyes just filled with something akin to ignorant blood lust.  
“Were you too old for her?”, she continued.   
And Leon just snapped. “Don't make me regret saving you earlier! Just SHUT the FUCK up. God, I hate you.”

Margaret stared at him and her eyes filled with tears.   
“Just go away. Don't talk to me again. Just... leave.”, Leon sounded tired and exhausted and mad. 

Gwaine pressed his lips together. He actually understood Leon. She surely was a pestering nuisance.   
How had he not seen that before?  
Sure enough, when none of them told her to stay, she turned around on her heels and walked off. But you could hear the sobbing even after she disappeared behind the next corner.   
“Weren't you a little mean?”

“She literally threw me of a cliff. I think she can handle being disliked.”

Gwaine shook his head.   
“You know, I get that she's annoying and all. But don't you think it would have been easier, if you just kissed her once?  
I have realized that turning people away all the time is both hurting me AND the people I reject. Why not just.... give them what they want? It's just a small kiss. Nothing more.  
It would be so much easier.”

Leon stared at him. Then he blinked. Opened his mouth and closed it again. He said nothing. He just rose back to his feet, shook his head and then he walked off.   
Leaving Gwaine behind like Gwaine's behavior had been as toxic as Margaret's had been. 

“You shouldn't have said that.”  
Gwaine jumped at the sound. When he turned around, he was suddenly face to face with a gentle giant.   
“Percival?”, Gwaine asked and sighed in relief that it had been a familiar face. 

Percival gave him a very meaningful look. That Gwaine couldn't fathom out, because Percival always looked like he had discovered the meaning of life and was wiser than the wisest men in Arthur's council. He also looked very sympathetic and emotional all the time.  
He looked like that over saving a couple of children as much as about opening a can of beans. Which had Gwaine very confused about the men.   
Hence his nickname – the gentle giant.

“He doesn't look good. Is he okay?”, Percival looked in Leon's direction who just disappeared in the around yet another different corner. Probably to get changed, so he could join George and Karen later.   
Gwaine frowned. “Nah. He just died.”, he commented. Half amused, half still processing.   
Percival shot him a confused glance. Then again, the man always looked confused.   
“Leon's always dead inside.”, Percy commented and twitched a smile. 

Gwaine snorted at that.

“Still. You shouldn't have said that thing about him just giving in to other people's demands. It's no fair. I understand that you like him, but -”  
Gwaine laughed. “I don't like him. Not like that at least. We're friends. That's it. Which is why this concerns me. He's always so distant.   
I'm sure he'd feel less bad about himself, if he just let people kiss him. It doesn't have to be on the lips or anything. On the hand is fine enough. I mean, look at Merlin. Everybody loves Merlin. And Merlin let's EVERYONE kiss him and he's not at all bothered by the meaning of it!”

Percival rose a skeptical eyebrow.   
“That's because Merlin is just like that. And Merlin also respects other people's limits. So of course, everybody likes him.   
But with Leon.... He just doesn't like it.”

“He could grow to like it. I mean... some people are just shy.”  
Percival sighed. “Look. Gwaine. Let's try something.” Gwaine scanned him curiously. “Try what?”  
“Kiss that wall.”

Gwaine stared at him, then laughed. “What? Okay?!”, he sounded amused and walked over to the next wall to jokingly kiss it as though he enjoyed it.   
“Did I prove your point now?”, he winked at Percy, who crossed his arms with an – for his standards – unusually hard to read expression.

“Okay. Now walk with me.”, he said and waved his hand into the same reaction Margaret had headed off to.   
Gwaine just shrugged and walked after him.   
“Now kiss that wall over there.”, Percival said. Gwaine raised another eyebrow.   
“Okay?”, he asked and walked over and pretended like kissing the wall was something he had wanted to do all day.   
He even flirted with it a bit. 

“Do you enjoy kissing walls?”, Percival asked with confusion.   
“Nah. I mean. It's not exactly fun, because it tastes like stone and dirt and stuff. But it's not that bad.”

Percival nodded satisfied.   
“Okay. Now that wall over there.”, he pointed to another wall at the other side. A couple of servants was standing around it, taking a small lunch break.   
Gwaine gave him yet another pointed look, walked over and then..... he just did it.   
Because he was trying to prove a point here.   
He knew what Percival was doing. He was trying to show Gwaine how someone could dislike kissing so much.   
But why a wall?

Needless to say, the servants kept watching him every step of the way. And when he finally did it, they started whispering.   
Gwaine felt embarrassed. But he shook it off easily. He was Gwaine after all. Hardly anything could bring him down. Especially not something that was supposed to be a joke.

But the thing was.... Percival didn't stop telling him which wall to kiss.   
And Gwaine was a patient man.   
They walked around the castle randomly. And pointed at random walls for Gwaine to kiss.   
What was funny at first soon turned out humorless. Boring. Humiliating at times.

At some point Percy looked at the wall skeptically and asked Gwaine to repeat the action again and again with the same wall.  
“Can we stop now?”, Gwaine finally submitted. “I feel like I've kissed every wall in the entire Castle up until this point! Multiple times!”

Percival pursed his lips.   
“Did you like kissing any of them?”  
“Not really, no.”, Gwaine crossed his arms. Actually, at this point his lips felt so used that he'd rather not repeat any of what he just did again. Maybe not ever.  
It was a very displeasing feeling at this point. They tingled dryly. As though they were exhausted.   
And the taste of stone wasn't leaving him. He was tired of it. It's not like he'd ever like kissing any wall ever.   
It's not like any of them were much different. Maybe this one wall tasted more like wall then the other one. But they were all walls. What difference did it make?

“Nah. We haven't tried the armory yet.”

“What's the point? They ALL feel the same!”, Gwaine wasn't amused anymore. He was getting impatient.   
“Maybe this one will feel different.”  
Gwaine's arms fell at that. That was.... exactly what Margaret had been saying to Leon. That was exactly the opposite of what he had just thought. Exasperation filled him. 

“Percival, you've made me kiss the same wall forty times now. And the wall in the armory is STILL a wall. I don't like walls! I don't WANT to kiss walls anymore! It's not funny. It's not pleasing either. It's exhausting.”

“You kissed that wall once, why can't you do it again?”

“I just don't WANT to. Okay? I've done as you asked! Isn't this enough? You keep making me do the same thing over and over again and you don't give a SHIT about how I feel about it! It was funny at first, but it's NOT anymore! They are ALL the same! What's the point of kissing them? The walls don't even like me. And I don't like them either! Literally NOBODY gets anything from this!  
Why should I do this, when -”

“Just kiss them. You said it yourself. They don't feel too bad. Just do it whenever I ask and be quiet about your own feelings.”

Gwaine stared at him. At the bold ignorance. The dismissal. The lack of empathy for him. The direct order that made Gwaine feel... like what actually?  
Like his feelings didn't matter? Like he wasn't appreciated? Like kissing that blasted wall was everything their hanging out was all about.   
Not once had Percival stopped to change the topic, do something else. He was just talking and talking about random walls too. 'We haven't tried this wall.' , 'We should go check out that other wall.', 'What do you think about THAT wall?'

The entire time, people were staring at Gwaine, judging him for doing as he was told.   
And Percival kept pretending like all of this was only about walls. Couldn't he tell how tired Gwaine was?

“Fuck you.”, he felt a dreadful kind of realization grow within his mind right after he had said this.

There was a pause between them, before Percival suddenly broke into a smile.

“I think you're getting it now.”, Percival's stern expression as he ignored Gwaine's outburst and observed his expression change into something akin to mortified.

Gwaine opened his mouth intelligently as he tried to see something in those kind eyes.   
Was Percival making fun of him?  
“Walls are not the same as people.”, he tried one last time.  
Percival nodded. “Yes. But I imagine people feel like walls to Leon. Maybe even worse, because people tend to be disappointed when he says no. Or there is always the chance that some of them start to hope he may have changed his mind for them. I think it kind of scares him.”

“But -”  
Gwaine zoned out. “Oh.”, he suddenly realized. “OH!”, he repeated and then stared at the next wall.   
The one he had been kissing before. He felt dread upon imagining what that wall must be thinking right now.  
Leon felt.... nothing... if not repulsion to kiss those walls. People. Leon's problem were people, not walls. This HADN'T been about Gwaine after all.   
This hadn't been Percival trying to prove to Gwaine how wrong he was.   
This was to show him exactly what Leon was going through. This wasn't about humiliating him. This was simple education. 

This was why Leon hated the mistletoes. Because the mistletoes did precisely what Percival had done all day. 

They were telling people: Kiss him, kiss her, kiss them, kiss whoever you may see. Regardless how you feel about them.  
Leon was repulsed by kissing in general. And the more he was told to actually do it, the more repulsion he felt to it. And the more repulsion he felt, the more he tried to avoid the mistletoes.  
And the more he did that, the more people he rejected. The more people he rejected, the more he disappointed. And the more people he disappointed, the worse he felt.

Percival was right.   
If Leon gave in to everyone who wanted to kiss him, he'd give them hope. If Leon had to kiss one of them, he'd have to kiss ALL of them to not make anyone feel special.   
If Leon was okay with kissing them ONCE, he'd feel forced to kiss them EVERY time they stood under a mistletoe.   
Leon was fighting for his own right to make that decision. That was all. He JUST wanted to be left alone. And not be forced into uncomfortable situations.  
Like for example, being thrown off a cliff, because the person who wanted to kiss him just wouldn't back off.

There was literally nothing Leon could do to NOT feel dreadful. To not feel exhausted and tired and enraged about the whole thing. 

Gwaine liked kissing people. He enjoyed it. But if kissing people felt like kissing walls to Leon, Gwaine could now imagine how mortifying that was.  
How mortifying those mistletoes were. Especially when they were everywhere. 

And Gwaine had just added to that. Cut off Leon's safe routes. Poisoning his safe spaces. Talking over his feelings like Gwaine knew any better.   
That much was clear. He was more than four hundred years old and had apparently never changed in that regard.   
Leon had confirmed as much. 

But to be honest, that part didn't really matter, did it? Gwaine was still staring at the wall.   
Even if Leon DID change in the future. Surely there were others like him who felt the same but weren't sure IF they would change in the future, or hoped or maybe even feared they would.  
Right NOW he felt like this. And they should respect that.   
Anyone should have the right to develop their own feelings at their own pace. And if they didn't develop any, or maybe developed them in a much different way, or maybe experimented later and still reverted back to their old feelings or didn't or.... whatever. It didn't matter.   
What mattered was how they felt right at this very moment. Everything else was none of other people's business. 

Gwaine closed his eyes.   
“Percy?”, he said and Percival nodded, barely noticeable.   
“Thank you.”  
Percival grinned and then nudged his shoulder. 

“I think I have an idea. Can you help me gather the servants and the knights around?”  
Percival tilted his head in surprise, but once again he nodded.   
“Because we should definitely celebrate that George is becoming a dad now.”, he added so that Percival knew what this was even about. 

“Wasn't this about Leon?”, he asked.   
“Oh that too.”, Gwaine nodded seriously. “But I think we can combine that somehow.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so.... this chapter held a lot of surprises for me.   
> I'm not sure if this will be finished until Christmas anymore XD Great Christmas special, really. I'll try though.   
> We have some topic left to talk about though.   
> What is Gwaine planning?  
> What happens with Margaret?  
> How will the bet be wrapped up?  
> Will there be a magic reveal? Who knows.

It was deep in the night, when George's first son was born.   
It had been a long procedure. With Gwen as midwife and Morgana as a helping hand. (And George of course. Leon turned in last. And he's had shadows under his eyes, because the only thing he managed to do was wash up and get a clean shirt after he had stumbled back into his room.)  
The three women had been friends for many years now. Because Morgana loved the dresses that Karen made and Gwen was often send to grab them. To get them mended or to just invite Karen over for dinner.

It wasn't something that was often talked about.   
And some nobles, like Arthur, didn't really have eyes for the activities of his sister or that of other servants (his mind was constantly preoccupied with only one certain manservant, if you know what I mean).

It was just a fact. It was the reason why Gwen and Morgana had disappeared randomly more often than not. It's also why you haven't seen either of them much in this story :) *(8)

Either way, the next day, Karen was lying in bed to rest, while Morgana and Gwen talked to her about all kinds of gossip, George was holding his son who was sleeping soundly in his arms, while Leon made them all breakfast.   
Gwen, Morgana and Leon had spend the night. Neither of them slept at all, but they were there all night. They technically may not be family, but they also kind of were. 

Especially Leon.   
However, since both Leon and George were mostly working all day, neither Gwen nor Morgana had been aware that Leon could have just as well been related to them by blood.  
Karen had mentioned they were close friends. Hell, everybody knew that. But she was well aware that telling people exactly how long and HOW she knew Leon was bound to get her tangled in webs of lies. 

And now that morning had come, Morgana and Gwen were out of topics and Karen had fallen asleep in the bed she shared with her husband, so silence had settled over the four wake people. 

Leon wasn't talking much, as he put a kettle of hot water over the fire and basically went through every cabinet as though he knew exactly where which object that he needed was. Which he did.   
He made some dough and started baking the way he had been taught many centuries ago. The process never really changed. Still, knights weren't expected to know the art of baking.  
George was smiling like an idiot and didn't comment on Leon's nervous habit. He was completely preoccupied with his first born. 

“Say, Leon.... are you here often?”, Morgana carefully asked, as she observed Leon's practiced hand movements.   
Leon startled at the phrase shortly, before grinning amused.   
“Are you here often” was a sentence often misused on him. That's why his mind's first reaction was always alarm.   
It was tiring to always be alarmed by people's words and how they phrased things.   
That's just how it is.   
You're not interested, but people always talk about love and who they wanna date and then you hyper fixate on phrases and implications that you somehow have to work your words around so much that you can't stop thinking about it at all.   
To the point where sometimes you notice innuendos faster than your friends, who then start questioning, if you're actually serious about your claims NOT to be interested.   
And maybe you overthink it so much that you start doubting yourself too. Are your feelings even valid, when you keep thinking about things you're supposedly not interested in? But, apparently you're invested enough to be more knowledgeable than anyone else seems to be.

The answer is yes, you're still valid. Because jokes are not the same as attraction to people. Stories you happen to like don't have to line up with your reality. You like movies about murder investigation, too, don't you? That doesn't mean you want to be part of one. It may be fun to think about it. But as soon as someone you love dies, you will realize that you actually don't ever want to witness that. Ever.

What you have is anxiety.

Leon was past that point of self doubt. But he did experience it too, when he was younger.

It still stressed him out sometimes how much time he wasted with thinking about this stuff. Especially after Margaret however, it was no wonder he was feeling paranoid. He needed a break from it. But that's not a switch you can flip.   
Maybe, if people stopped pestering him about his love life, maybe he wouldn't even notice those phrases anymore. Like he didn't, when he was still a teenager and still thought people were joking about the whole thing. That was all so long ago....

Either way, he knew Morgana. And Morgana liked women, so he could be fairly certain she didn't mean it in the way his mind picked it up initially. * (9)  
“I basically live here.”, Leon joked. And it wasn't wrong. The context was that Leon had practically raised Karen, when he was still an old man in appearance. (He was still old, but he didn't look the part for now.)  
Karen had been an orphan and he had found her on the street and taken her in.   
He had initially tried to find a different home for her, but couldn't find anyone who would take the orphan in.

In the end, he had given in, not wanting her on the streets. But the way they lived together they had always been more like friends than him being an actual dad. She had been twelve when he found her. And she had always been a very independent person. So much that saying Leon was like a father to her was about as true as saying she were like a mother to him. It may be strange to think about, but Leon had guided her into understanding the world and how to build a life for herself, and she had taken care of him, when he was sick or made him feel less alone when he was simply depressed. 

After all, it CAN be lonely, if you've lived hundreds of years and see your friends and family die around you. It can also be lonely to be constantly misunderstood or looked upon.   
The people who DID understand him, were all dying these days, because of the war that was going on at the time or they simply died of age.

Leon only told her about his own immortality after he had already been accepted into Uther's house of nobles. Only after he died in the war and was forced to deage in the process.   
It had been hard to convince her of this, since he was suddenly forty years younger than the man who gave her shelter all those years ago. But he knew things about his older version that nobody else ever knew. It took time, but since Leon had given her the house and insisted that she'd keep it and had moved out to live in the castle, she eventually started to trust him again.  
Knowing he was neither out for money nor anything else but the friendship they had before the war.   
Especially, after she realized how many similarities he had with her “father”. How much he knew about things this apparent stranger just COULDN'T know about. Especially one who had never been seen in Camelot, apart from a few last people who commented that Leon looked JUST like the old men who had taken Karen in, when he was a young man. 

When Leon died again, killed when sorcerers attacked random people in the lower town, she actually saw him rise from the dead. And from then on she never doubted him again. 

About a year after, the new servant of king Uther himself, an apparently very efficient man had been ordered to ask the seamstress for a certain cape.   
That's how Karen met George. And soon after that was also how Leon met him.   
Naturally, Leon was a bit skeptical of him at first. But when he realized just how much the two of them got along and how smart and kind and accepting the servant was, and how happy he made Karen, he started to consider him a friend. 

Later, when they worked together, Leon also realized what a great addition this man was to the castle and how similar Leon and him were. They were both observant and efficient and absolutely loyal to the crown, despite Uther's strange way of reign. 

And when George and Karen got married, George asked Leon to be his best man. Needless to say, Leon had been shocked.   
Karen said, it would have looked weird, if Leon walked her to the aisle, since that was a job reserved for one's parent. But George considered him part of the family as well.   
And they both insisted that he needed a special place during the ceremony. 

It was at the bachelor party that Leon came clean about his immortality to George. Because if George was to be wed to Karen, Leon couldn't expect Karen to keep secrets from George. And he wanted to tell him himself.   
Only that he learned that George had long suspected something like that. It wasn't hard to convince him, actually.  
Because George was very observant and he noticed how many battles Leon came back from as the lone survivor.   
And how wounds that should have killed him, disappeared after a few days only without as much as a scratch.

Since George had been one of the servants assigned to dress knights before he became Uther's personal manservant, it was obvious that he would notice such things. And that he would have an eye on the knights. If only to secretly inform Gaius when someone was hurt worse than they let on.

It was also then that George told him about Merlin's magic. Something he had also figured out by himself, when nobody else did. Leon had NOT known about it.   
George asked him to keep an eye on the sorcerer to make sure he wouldn't hurt himself by protecting Arthur. And so the two of them started a small circle of trusted servants and knights who had sworn to protect Merlin. The bachelor party was awesome by the way. 

Part of that circle where obviously Gwen and Lancelot. Percival had also JUST joined them, because he used to live with druids and was therefore trustworthy.  
George and Karen were, however, the only people who knew about Leon's immortality.  
Apart from Gwaine and Margaret, who only found out today. They were also not part of the Merlin protection squad and therefore unaware of Arthur's personal guardian angel.   
(How Leon met Kilgharrah was a secret that Leon would take to his grave. Not even George was allowed to know. I wonder why myself. He just refuses to tell me. Either way, Leon hates the giant lizard.)  
Leon hasn't been feeling this happy and young in many decades. He was glad he found people whom he could just be himself with.

“Really? I hardly see you in here.”, Gwen said and watched, while Leon worked.   
“I don't have much time anymore.”, Leon explained. He mostly just talked with Karen down in the shop nowadays, when he gave her yet another shredded cape to mend. Or they hung out at the stables or the market. But not really inside the house. 

“I know that.... I'm just surprised you remember everything in here so well.”, she shrugged curiously.   
Leon raised an eyebrow at her. 

“How do you know Karen? You seem to get along well? Have you been friends for long?”, Morgana added.   
Leon shrugged. “I've known her for a while.”, he smiled at them.   
“Long enough that it's hard to recall how long ago that was.”, he added.   
In itself, that was not a lie. It was also vague enough to avoid all forms of made up explanations. Leon was hundreds of years old. Sometimes he hardly saw the difference between one year and twenty.   
He knew Karen somewhere in between. 

Time passed and Gwen and Morgana somehow returned to cooing over the latest addition to the family. They realized that this was as much information as Leon would grand them for now.  
George handed the child over to Morgana, who looked terrified at first, but was then fully into holding the babe, like she was the child's aunt.   
This child was going to be spoiled with lots of knifes, when he grew up. Like... as gifts. Not as target practice. 

George sat down at the table next to where Leon was just done with the dough and now shoved it into the oven, where the flames had long dissipated in nothing but glowing coal. The stone would be heated enough to bake the bread.

“This is exhausting.”, George said and leaned back in his chair. The poor man had the bad habit of constantly taking long hour shifts. Karen wasn't too happy about that and now he would have to reschedule, obviously. But right now he was just as tired as Leon was.   
Leon could barely stand, really.   
He also sat down, right after he filled a couple of cups with hot water and tea leaves. 

Leon just nodded at him and closed his eyes for a while.   
“I think congratulations are in order, hmm?”, Leon grinned at him and nudged him in the shoulder. A habit that was fun for knights, but always caused a bruise on George's weak arms.   
George ran a hand though his hair.   
“You should congratulate Karen, not me. I didn't do anything.”  
“No. But you will do a lot for this child. I know you will. You've always been a capable and very responsible person.”  
“I'm terrified.”, George muttered to himself and immediately burned his tongue when he took the first sip of his tea. 

“Yeah well. You're brave too. So I suppose that balances out, doesn't it?”

George chuckled. It wasn't an amused chuckle. More like a relieved one.   
“Also you have Gwen and Morgana to babysit, whenever you need them. It's not like you have to do this alone.”

“You wouldn't babysit them?”, George raised an eyebrow at Leon, mock disappointment in his voice.   
Leon snorted. “Let's be honest. With my track record of 'almost'-”, Leon used air quotes for 'almost' , “dying, I'm not sure I'd be a good nanny.”

“The child won't kill you.”, NOW George sounded amused. Leon raised his eyebrows skeptically.   
“Won't he though?”  
George laughed. “Okay, fair. Knowing you, that's definitely a possibility. I should probably not leave you alone with him at the VERY least.”  
“Wise choice.” They clacked their cups together before they kept drinking tea. 

It was quiet for a while. 

Then, Leon grabbed into his cape, to reveal a small package. He handed it over to George.   
George frowned.   
“What's this?”  
“A present.”  
“Leon... we told you we don't need anything.”, as a whisper he continued. “you already gave us the house.”  
Leon shook his head with a smile. “This isn't for you. It's for the child. It's just an old blanket that belonged to an old friend of mine. He gifted it to me a couple years back. It's one of the only things I could grab before I left Camelot for the first time.   
I have lots of memories with this one.”

George looked at the package, and then he went to open it. Only to reveal an old blanket. It must have been red once. But the color was mostly faded out at this point.   
“It's... it's very old, isn't it.”, George gave Leon a strange look. “Who was the friend?”  
Leon smiled. “Bruta.”, he said and took another sip.   
George stopped to look at him and then he stared at the blanket.   
“I can't take this.”, he said, eyes wide. Realizing that said 'friend' was the very first king of Camelot himself.

“Of course you can.”  
“But -”  
“George, it's just a blanket. They were given out to all knights and squires that one winter where half of Camelot's citizens died from the cold. And Bruta made sure that each of his friends was given one by him personally. It was a nice sentiment. But in the end, it's just a blanket. And it has long served it's purpose. Half of it is mended, too. I think 90 % of the blanket has already been replaced with stitches and other pieces of fabric.” And well, that was a perfect way to describe the blanket. Some patches were of completely different colors too.

And yet, George looked at him with comically wide eyes. “We'll do our best to take good care of it.”, he assured him and Leon let his head fall in amusement.   
“Take care of your child first. Please.”  
“Of course.”, George beamed at him.   
After that, neither of them said a word. Eventually, Leon drowsed off so many times, that George told him to sleep in the guest room.   
The guest room was actually Leon's old room. Karen just kept it exactly the way it had been when Leon left. 

Leon didn't have many possessions, actually. He prided himself with minimalism. That blanket was probably the most sentimental thing he possessed.   
Because he had been buried in it, when he died that first time. He had hidden underneath it, when he escaped on the boats.   
He had survived many things, but the blanket had always been there somehow. It was a small comfort. Especially since Leon DID manage to freeze to death once.

Of course he had washed it before he gave it to George. But you couldn't wash away four hundred years of history. And yet, he had thought long and hard about this. And he found he made the right choice.   
When he fell asleep on the guest bed that felt as familiar as his own home, he dreamed of old times. Of happy times. And of promises that were yet to be fulfilled.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

It was late in the evening, when Leon woke up again. Karen was taking care of the child herself now, while Gwen and Morgana had returned to their own homes. Chattering about something wildly, that Leon wouldn't find out until later. 

George was sleeping in the bed he shared with Karen.   
Someone had taken care of the bread too, because clearly Leon had been too tired to even notice that he had forgotten it.

“Hey.”, Karen smiled at him. She was holding her child, like she had never seen anything more precious in her entire life.   
Leon smiled back. “How's my grandson?”, he joked at her and Karen immediately laughed. 

“Don't call him that.”, she snorted. It was then that Leon noticed the baby was being covered in the blanket he had given George earlier.   
“Okay. GREAT grandson.”  
She laughed. “Don't. Seriously.”, she shook her head, but walked over and handed the baby over to Leon, without even asking if he wanted that. 

Leon's eyes widened, but he took the child on his arm anyway. It wasn't the first baby he ever held in his arms. But boy, he was always awkward about it.   
“George and I were thinking about a name for him. And we think, maybe...”, she looked at him in question. “We want to call him Bruta.”

Leon, who had been looking at the sleeping baby before, turned his attention back to her.   
“What?”, he asked, even more surprised than before.   
“Why?”, he added. Because this made no sense. 

Sure, he HAD told them he had been friends with Bruta. But neither of the two actually knew the man. And it's not like they had been best friends or anything.   
They actually fought a lot. That's the part he mostly mentioned too. And it's not like he was the only friend Leon ever had. Or the only one he ever mentioned.  
Karen smiled at him painfully.   
“After your brother.”

Leon froze. He couldn't help it, he stared at her in shock.   
“How did you know.” It was like a bomb imploded within his stomach area. He had never told anyone this. He had never mentioned, ever since his brother died in his very last battle.   
He always only referred to him as an old friend.

Her eyes widened with mild surprise that she was right, but she calmed immediately, before she answered.   
“Leon. You're immortal. You've been magically cursed, but you don't hate warlocks and magic and all that. You've been protecting everything that's magical ever since it was banned.   
And YET, you remained loyal to Uther. 

You may have been friends with Uther back in the day.... But I know you. You're loyal to your believes. And Uther violated more of them than any man ever did. You've killed for less.  
And you two weren't THAT close friends. I mean, he didn't even bother to show up to your funeral.   
Uther was always more a king than he was a friend or a father.   
So why would you of all people stay loyal to him? The answer is simple. Because you're more sentimental than you let on.   
Because he is a descended of Bruta himself. A man who you've always valued to the highest regards. That's the reason. ”

Leon still stared at her. 

“Also”, she took a deep breath, as she went to show him an inscription that was woven into the fabric of the blanket that Leon had gifted them.   
“You go by the royal name of Archigós, nowadays, don't you? Which IS a very strange name, if you asked me.”, she almost laughed at the twitch in Leon's frown.

“But erm...”, she looked at the strange symbols. “You also told me that you were fluent in Greek, so..... *(10)”  
She pointed at the letters. “αρχηγός”, it said. It was woven in gold into the fabric and it was one of the parts he had taken very special care of.  
“Morgana told me that it was funny. Because you would read it as Archigós, which is your name. But the translation is Pendragon. That's when I finally made the connection.”

Leon shook his head in disbelieve.  
“You are MUCH too smart for your own good, did you know that.”, he still smiled at her.  
Then she slapped him on the head.  
“You should have told us! I HATE secrets!”, she huffed at Leon's startled expression, then she took the baby away from him. 

“You should still give your child another name. Don't you think it's weird to just randomly name him after the brother of your friend?”  
She shook her head. “I don't think so, no.”, she grinned at him.   
“But er... Just in case, he got two names. William Bruta.”  
“That is the worst combination of names you could have ever come up with.”

She tilted her head at him. “After George's father and your brother. We will call him Will as a nickname.”  
“Do you think Merlin will be happy about that? You know his friend was called Will, right?”  
She paused. “Oh, I haven't thought about that. That's even better.”  
“No it's NOT!”, Leon laughed. “You have the WORST taste in names.”

“I'm a genius and you know it.”

“You once called a stray 'doggo'.”, Leon deadpanned.   
“And?”, she grinned.   
“It was a cat.”  
“I told you . Genius.”  
Leon barked out laughing. “At least you're original.”, he shook his head fondly. 

“Thank you.” They didn't need to say anything more. Karen knew exactly what he was thanking her for.   
And it wasn't just for the name. It was for everything they ever went through. For everything she meant to him. For the mere fact that she and George and even their child existed.   
That they knew him. That they were able to look through him, when he tried to hide. That he had a place in their family no matter what.   
He could just be himself. And that was all he ever wanted. To be himself was the only choice he ever made. He had yet to regret it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *(8) For once I have a reasonable excuse that isn't: the story isn't about them lmao.   
> I need more women in my fics. Anyway, …..  
> *(9) I always keep switching between Morgwen and Gwen x Lancelot. Sometimes I combine them. Sometimes it's neither, because I keep shipping Gwen with Arthur too. It always depends on the fic.   
> Tbh, I get some ace vibes from her sometimes, so maybe that's up to debate. Either way, she likes women :) At least in this one. I AM a multishipper after all. Ships just need to make sense to me, so... well. Anyway, now that Lancelot is shipped with Gwen for this one, I don't have a love interest for Morgana that makes sense in this context. So it's just... out there :)
> 
> *(10) okay okay. I know this is just me abusing google translate again, so I apologize for everything that's wrong with this XD I do know that I have readers who actually know Greek XD I'm a fraud. Please forgive me. I shouldn't play with foreign languages so much. But it's so much fun :) )


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is the last chapter.   
> I must say, I am not 100 % happy with how it turned out. But I've reqritten it like 5 times now. Which is 5 times the usual amount :)  
> But I think I covered everything I wanted to :)   
> I wish you guys a MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS.  
> Have fun. Be kind. And please ignore the murder.

“Guys, guys, calm down!”, Gwaine was having trouble. A sea of knights, servants and royals were scurrying around the throne room.   
Each of them were chattering and mumbling. None of them really understood why they were even here. Because the king himself seemed just as confused about the invitation as his manservant.   
And when neither Arthur nor Merlin had summoned them.... then who did? Who had the authority to do so?

“Guys!”, Gwaine tried again, but nobody was listening. Gwaine was good in cheering people on. In raising people to shout louder, challenging them into games. But getting them to actively listen? To quiet down? Not necessarily his fortune.   
So he did what Gwaine always did. He flipped his hair for absolutely no reason, before drunkenly grabbing his sword and clanking it against the next piece of armor he could find. Which happened to be a very confused guard who almost got knocked of his feet by that.

The clinging sound was so loud that the people who were standing too close had to cover their ears.   
Immediately all attention was on him and everyone was silent as a mouse.

“Thank you.”, Gwaine said, and then clapped his hands together. 

“I'll try to make this short. You all know George I assume?”  
There was silent affirmation by nods and small 'yeses'. Of course the servants would know the head of the servant staff. And the knights would know the man they always went to to get things done right.  
“His wife went into labor a couple hours ago. He is becoming a father tonight.”

The noises grew louder again. But some people were whispering amused comments towards each other. Disbelieve hung in the air. Though Gwaine didn't initially pick up why.  
“And since George has been maybe the most dependable servant this castle ever had - as I've been told - we want to throw them a party.”  
THAT got people excited, of course. So it became louder once more. 

“Who gave him permission to use the throne room?”, Arthur whispered to Merlin, but it was also unmistakable that he didn't really care. It was evident in the way his arms were draped around his servant's waist and they were standing far closer than usual.   
Their usual formal distance had been bridged and it was clear to Gwaine that Arthur had lost the bet.   
And didn't regret it for one bit. Gwaine shook his head. That was faster than he had expected.  
Arthur was a disaster for this man. 

“And since it's almost Christmas, we want to make it Christmas themed.”

Now that had some people cooing, others grinning, others just rolling their eyes.   
“Does that mean more mistletoes?”, someone asked and Gwaine grinned with how the topic went smoothly into the direction he had wanted it to go in. 

The person who asked seemed overly excited about the thought.   
Then suddenly, another girl spoke up. She was a bit smaller than the first. Her hair was shorter and her eyes wider. Though narrowed, when she crossed her arms and pursed her lips in annoyance. Almost exasperation.   
“I think we've had MORE than enough mistletoes in the castle worth a decade! I know it's Christmas, but this is too much. Also, if it's about George, can we please tone it down a bit?”

“Are you kidding? Nothing is better than this!”, the first one replied. 

Suddenly a man chimed in. “Girls, shut it down. The mistletoes were hung for a reason. I swear, something big will happen with them. Just wait for it.”  
Gwaine frowned at that. They actually.... weren't.   
Conspiracy theories. They were everywhere. Always have been. Always will. 

Now another guy interrupted the conversation. “I think Emily is right.”, apparently it was the shorter girl he was referring to.  
“My girlfriend is constantly asked to kiss random guys and she hates it.”  
“She should just tell them, she has a boyfriend then.”, the first girl commented.  
“We've TRIED that. Some people just don't LISTEN. Most people call ME the jealous one. I don't even care, if she does. As long as she doesn't sleep with them. But she's upset that random guys keep approaching her, even though she's clearly taken.”

Gwaine blinked. Okay... he had wanted to introduce the subject to the people, but he hadn't really considered, that most people already had a fixed opinion about it.

Suddenly another person raised attention to them. “My parents keep arguing, because my mom is fine with kissing her female friends, but my father isn't allowed to do the same with ANYONE else.”  
“Well, if he did, it would be cheating, wouldn't it?”, someone randomly commented.   
“But when they're just friends?”  
“But he's a man.”  
And..... Gwaine ignored that because the reason made no sense. Not that he had the time to dwell on this particular topic on toxic masculinity. 

Suddenly it were multiple voices talking through each other. Arguing and commenting on each other.   
“I feel miserable, each time I see them!”, one knight said at one point. One of his friends commented: “That's cause you're ugly.”, he jabbed at him. It was supposed to be a joke, but the knight in question looked even more miserable. As though he believed it to be true.   
As if he people were fleeing from the mistletoes as soon as he was under them. Or just usually ignored him. And that made him feel bad about himself. 

Gwaine felt.... gobsmacked, really. The reactions were so vast and different, he had never considered half of their reasoning. There were so many.... no's.

“But I want my first kiss to be romantic.”, a girl pouted wistfully. While her friend just rolled her eyes. “Trust me, kisses are overrated. You know the sparkly feeling they describe in stories? That's not real.”  
“Wow, you've clearly never been kissed before.”, a man joked at her.   
“Clearly. Except I kiss my girlfriend every day.”, she smugly raised an eyebrow at him.   
“Maybe she's just bad at kissing.”, the man replied, an eyebrow raised. “Or maybe you should try men some time.”  
She blinked. “Fuck you. I do love her. I just don't think kissing is that special. I do it, because she likes it. I could do without though.”, she shrugged.

“What do you mean, you don't get the sparks? Are you sure you love her?”

The girl looked from one person to another. She was basically cornered by people who didn't believe a word she said. Where her girlfriend was? Who knows. She may have work to do. It was Christmas after all.  
“Sparks? You guys actually feel that?”  
Lots of nodding around her. She opened her mouth, then closed it in shock.   
“I thought you guys made that up.”

“OKAY, guys STOP!”, Gwaine shouted at the crowd. Heads turned back to him.   
“That's exactly what I wanted to talk about. Everyone here has their own feelings about kissing. Everyone feels, thinks and reasons differently, when it comes to those mistletoes. And everyone will react differently, when asked if they want to be kissed.”

He was interrupted by an older looking woman in the crowd. “You don't ask people, if they want to be kissed, if you're under the mistletoe. That's against tradition.”  
Gwaine gave her a look, then he waited a moment. Considering what he should be saying. And whether or not he should censor it.  
“Fuck tradition.”, he finally said.   
That made some people flinch. Other just shared amused glances at Gwaine's foul language. 

“Everybody should have a say in whether or not they are kissed. Whether they feel comfortable with it or not. And you all HAVE to respect their decisions. Get it?”  
He looked around. “Especially, when the answer is no. Their reasons, their context, the decision itself is none of your business. You have a right to ask. But you don't have a right for the answer. So if someone says no, keep your mouth shut and accept it. It's not that hard. They're not insulting you. It's nothing personal. It's just a no. It could be an 'I ate onions at lunch and I don't want you to have to taste that' – no.   
Nobody is attacking you. It's not about YOU. It's about them. And about making someone you want to share a more or less intimate moment with, feel comfortable about it.”

“Like YOU'RE one to talk. You put the mistletoes up in the first place! I've been trying to escape my jealous ex for months and now I see her under every mistletoe!”, someone commented.   
Gwaine ran a hand through his hair. 

“And I apologize. I thought it was a fun idea at first. And then -”, Gwaine looked at the crowd, not sure how to continue, because a part of him knew the bet was still in place. But really, he didn't want to drag Leon into this. Leon already got more than enough comments about the whole thing.  
Unfortunately, Arthur thought Leon's intentions were honorable. So he made the mistake of speaking up.  
“Gwaine and I made a bet with Leon.”, Arthur announced. Merlin stood half a step behind him, waiting for his king to speak.   
The crowd broke out into mutters again. 

“Leon asked us to not kiss anyone under the mistletoes. We were not supposed to say whether we liked someone else of not. And we weren't allowed to mention the bet.   
And guys, it was not easy.”

Some of the people raised an eyebrow at that. Which was fair, because the mention of the bet alone sounded ridiculous. It was simplified like that. 

Because there are things that this description just didn't explain. Because some things are too complicated to explain in words alone. You have to see them. To feel them to be able to understand. 

People don't see how you're cornered all the time. How dozens of people ask you the same uncomfortable questions and feel bad about you or your feelings. Or worse, bad about themselves because you're saying no to something that's supposed to bring joy.   
They don't see that it doesn't bring joy to you.

It's easy to say “just say no” to people. But when you say no to the very same people who told you this, they will immediately feel attacked. They apologize for making you uncomfortable because clearly you're a miserable soul who will die alone.   
They pity you.   
And then they make it worse by pitying themselves and telling you they relate, because THEY are or would be unhappy being alone. 

They will tell you “you won't be alone forever.”, “you will find someone.”. 

I think that's cruel.

They tell you someone will love you eventually.   
The thing is.... you're not afraid that you won't be loved. Because clearly you are. You have friends, you have family.   
But they make it sound like that's not enough. Like they are not enough.  
Why are they telling you that someone will come who will love you, when they are the people who already claim to love you? Who are supposed to love you. Maybe that's it. Maybe they don't.  
Suddenly it feels like they are rejecting you. They are saying someone else will come. Like it's a burden to love you. They don't mean it, but that's how it feels.

And you know you don't love anyone that way. You can't love someone back the way that is expected of you. THAT is what scares you. You're not scared you won't be loved. You're scared that whatever you can give is not enough. That they will realize that you don't love others back the way they want you to.

The love your family has for you is equal to the love you have for them, but apparently... 

Apparently there is no real love for you. Because your family made it clear that their love is temporary. Not real. Not right. That they will wait until you find someone else. Which you know you never will.   
Maybe they are waiting for you to leave them alone. Who knows? Like they expected to be a placeholder for someone else. 

And then they tell you, you will be happy, if you find the right person.   
That is unfair. Because you WERE happy before. But they believe, it's normal to be miserable while you wait. They expect you to be miserable until you find your other half.   
What if you won't find them? They are putting romantic and sexual love on such a high pedestal that you feel like you're missing out.   
It's like they want you to be unhappy. Can't you be happy being alone? Are other people never happy until they meet “the one”?

How can people expect to share their own lives, when they don't think themselves complete? If you're not complete, what do you have to give? You're not one half of a soul. You are one person. One entire, whole and complete soul.   
Finding someone you love …. regardless in what way... means to be that. Openly. Freely. And unafraid. That's what love is. What being loved means. And that doesn't have to be romantic at all.

You're not broken.  
Them rejecting you. Them placing their burden of loving you on to a non existing person, that shatters your soul. Suddenly, you are surrounded by people. By people who sound like they've always faked loving you.   
And out of nowhere, you're not just alone. Now you're actually lonely.   
And that's so much worse. *(x)

You can't see all that by just mentioning the bet.

A random person chuckled: “Leon? That guy is so prude though. So what? Did the mistletoes hurt his feelings or something?”  
“Prude? That guy is secretly shagging George's wife. Not to gossip or anything, but I swear Leon is the real father.” and then everyone was arguing about Leon again. Like they didn't enough already.

Gwaine and Arthur looked at each other in desperation. Gwaine looked more shocked than Arthur though. Because this was the first time he had heard of the gossip. And after knowing Leon for over a year, he couldn't imagine the man ever starting a family of his own accord. Especially after the bet.  
Then Gwaine turned back to the crowd.   
“All we wanted was to -”

It was that moment that Morgana and Gwen entered and interrupted the conversation abruptly and absolutely. They were hurrying towards the front row, excited and worried and many more feelings that were hard to make out from their expression alone.   
Heads turned towards them, and the chatter died down. 

“Is the baby?”, Arthur asked, immediately remembering why they came here in the first place.  
“Yes. The baby is healthy.”, Gwen smiled at the king and relief fell from their shoulders. Just for a moment, in the moment they had laid eyes on them, they had feared for the worst. Because that is what people think, when someone who is supposed to bring good news runs into a room disheveled and panicked.   
“We're actually here because of Leon.”, Morgana said. And maybe with the previous context that was the wrong thing to say.   
“I knew it!”, the man from before said. “Leon IS the father!”, he laughed. 

Morgana physically leaned away from the man and gave him a disgusted look. “No.”, she said, then turned back to Arthur. The man startled in surprise, but stepped back from Morgana none the less. After all, Morgana was probably the most terrifying woman in all of Camelot. Her 'no's' were never questioned. 

“Can I talk to you?”  
Arthur frowned. “Can't you say it here?”   
Morgana contemplated for a second, then she brought out a leather bound book from under her wide black cape. (She loved capes.)  
“We think -”, Morgana grinned as she nudged Gwen in the side.   
“That Leon's actually -”, she continued and paused simply for the suspense.   
“He's actually a Pendragon.”

And okay, if that hadn't the crowd murmuring and shocked, what else had?

“He's what? NO!”, Arthur shook his head in utter shock. The thought that Uther would have had yet another side step wasn't impossible, of course. But it was a bitter tonic to swallow. One Arthur had considered, because if Morgana existed, what if there were more? His face twisted in to something troubled.

“Did Uther.....”  
“No no. Don't worry.”, Morgana grinned from ear to ear.   
“We were searching for the records of other ancestors and stuff. Because Leon's name Archigós is actually the Greek translation for Pendragon!”, she announced. 

Arthur blinked. “What gave you that...”  
“Leon used to own a blanket that has been in his family for generations. And he gave that to George's child as a present. It has his name webbed into it. And now get this. It's in Greek.” *(11)  
Arthur stared at her.   
“How - ?”

“Well... We checked it!”, Morgana looked excitedly to Gwen. “We tried to find records from Leon's family. It appears he's the nephew of a farmer, actually. And that farmer was a knight under Uther as well. He died in the war.   
Before that, there were other ancestors of his who bore that name. An uncle here, a cousin there.... The names are all pretty similar, actually. And they all lead back to one man. And you will NEVER guess who that is! It wasn't easy to make the connection, because the records say he died at the age of 25. But later his name reappeared in other records from Caerlon. So maybe, he didn't after all.”, Morgana was grinning wildly as she talked with no punctuation.   
“And who would that be?”, Arthur asked, trying to count down in his mind the ancestors that lead Camelot before his father. 

“Leon Pendragon.”, she chuckled at the name. “The older brother of king Bruta.”  
Arthur gaped at her. “King Bruta? THE first king of Camelot? HIS brother? The lion of Camelot? The man is a legend! He was only a squire, when he lead a secret army that cornered Bruta's worst enemy from their weak side. Without him, Albion would have never been created! He saved Bruta's life and he was only nineteen at the time! Bruta never even knew his brother was backing him up! He's said to be one of the finest strategist in the entire history of Camelot. Not as good as a fighter, but a brilliant mind.”

The crowd was quiet now. All eyes on Morgana.   
Morgana grinned even wider. The bomb had dropped perfectly. Gwaine stared at Arthur, who looked like someone had smacked him on the head. 

Gwaine however stared at Morgana,because he realized what this meant. Because Gwaine knew …. Leon was old enough to have known Bruta personally.   
“You've got to be kidding me.”, he huffed out.

“Let me see this.”, he walked over to Morgana and basically ripped the book out of her hands. Morgana looked outraged, but Gwaine couldn't focus on her.   
The family tree regarding Leon Pendragon looked utterly confusing. It was like out of nowhere random family members had appeared and been linked with question marks to the time line.   
Many names were scratched out with marks of death dates, only to reappear in other parts of the country again.

Gwaine scanned the lines that were clearly written by someone with an odd obsession with conspiracies. (Probably Morgana's handwriting) And there were other things he noticed.   
None of these figures were ever said to have taken a wife. All of them died after the age of 25. And none of them were ever mentioned to have children.  
But they were all mentioned to have an uncanny resemblance to the family member they were said to be connected to.   
They were all each other's uncles or cousins or siblings. And they appeared whenever the former person had died. None of them appeared at the same time. And if so, it only shortly overlapped.   
This was clearly Leon's work. He had made sure he had an explanation for looking exactly like his ancestors, without making them sound like liars about their family situation.   
Brilliant fool, he'd dare say. Leon must have been convinced that nobody would ever check on this. 

Morgana, however, just looked smug at Gwaine's expression.   
Gwaine stared at the one and only name that was actively said to have a brother whose name wasn't Lennart or Leonardo or any other name ridiculously similar to Leon's. 

And there it was. Leon, brother to Bruta Pendragon. Bruta's lineage went on clear and straight down to Arthur Pendragon. But Leon's.... just.... existed in it's own realm. 

“I can't believe this.”, Gwaine muttered again and looked at Arthur, like someone had just told him they were out of ale.

\---------------------------------------------------------

When Leon and George, along with his wife and the baby managed to get back to the castle, there were a few things they immediately noticed.   
“It's quiet.”, Leon commented. “Too quiet.”  
And it was. The halls were empty. No servants, no guards, nothing. Only the small cries of Will echoed in the hall, while Karen tried to calm him down.   
“Shh.”, she made, while George tried to make silly faces at the boy. It didn't work. George's face was just too serious all the time.

Leon, meanwhile, was preoccupied with their surroundings.   
“Something's off.”, he also commented, which made George turn and look at the walls as well.   
“Less mistletoes.”, Leon said.

“First it's too many, now it's not enough?”, the servant asked, but Leon shook his head.

“It's just odd.”, he said and flailed his arms at the empty walls.   
“Maybe Gwaine and Arthur learned their lesson?”  
“You don't actually believe that, do you?”, Leon shot back. “Nobody ever understands.”  
Except for Karen and George. But they didn't point that out.

“Why not? They are your friends. I'm sure they did what they could to see things from your perspective. ”, Karen said.  
Leon sighed. “Maybe.”

The closer they came to the throne room, however, the more the mistletoes returned. Not as many as there had been before. And they were all placed in a way that you could walk around them easily.   
Leon blinked. Okay... maybe they HAD learned their lesson.   
Only then he could hear music and people laughing and dancing. There were servants dancing in the throne room. 

They could see it from afar, but as soon as they entered the room, people started cheering.   
There was a giant sign that said “Congratulations, George and Karen.” And suddenly they were surrounded by various people.   
A small girl pushed three bracelets into Leon's hand. And at first, Leon thought it was one for each of them, but the girl gave George three as well. And Karen, too. 

“What the hell is this?”, Leon asked suspiciously, as he recognized a yellow bracelet hanging from her arm.   
“Oh, it's bracelets.”, she laughed like it was obvious. “It's for the mistletoes. The green one means, go ahead, kiss me. You don't even need to ask. The yellow one means, I'd rather be asked. And the red one is 'don't and don't even ask'. Gwaine came up with it, so people don't have to avoid the mistletoes, if they don't want to.”

Leon stared after her, as she skipped away. He shared an irritated glance with George, then he stared at the bracelets.  
Leon looked around and then noticed that, indeed, everyone was wearing at least one of those bracelets.   
And what else he noticed was.... there were more reds than he would have expected after this brief explanation.   
With slight hesitation, Leon slipped on his own bracelet. A red one, of course. 

George looked at his wife, then he smiled at her and put a red one on as well. Karen gave him a mock shocked expression.   
“I'm sorry.”, George stood straight before her, bowing like a servant should. “But I am already taken milady. It is a shame. But only my wife may kiss me.”, he joked and Karen laughed, before slipping on a yellow one. “Well, I have friends.”, she winked at him and George laughed.   
“My husband won't mind it.”, she added, but it was almost a question. “Of course he doesn't.”, George agreed. Because some relationships just are like that. 

Every relationship works in it's own way. And theirs did like this. It was based on trust and organization. It had a steady foundation and that's why they knew the relationship was going to last. Not because it had to. Not because they were married.   
But because they wanted it to. And they worked for it to last as long as possible. Of course, they too, had their fall outs. But they possessed something that many relationships lack. Honesty and communication. Patience, and acceptance. 

When Leon looked around, he could hear some people complaining about the bracelets, but the people who did, wore yellow one's themselves.   
At one occasion, Leon saw a random person switch up their green band for a yellow one, while muttering curses to themselves.  
So that's why everyone got three. So they had the possibility to change their mind, should their mood change during the evening.

And then George and Karen were crowded by people who wanted to see the baby. Congratulations were said and it got too loud for Leon to handle.

So Leon wiggled out of the crowd, while some people pointed at his red bracelet. Some in disappointment, others in disbelieve. Mostly because they thought they knew him and his reasoning, which made no sense to them.   
But none of them asked to kiss him. Even when he had to wiggle himself through the crowd under a whole bush of mistletoes, people just gave his bracelet a look and then went their way. 'No. Don't even ask.' That's what red meant. It didn't state the reason. Because honestly that was none of other people's business.  
Leon couldn't believe people were actually respecting that. How on earth did Gwaine manage to convince them?

It was... different. Everyone wore the bracelets. Some wore green ones. Others wore yellows. And many, many more people than Leon would have ever expected, wore red ones.   
Most of whom he knew were in relationships. But it was … strange to see them make the same choice he did for much different reasons. They would kiss their partners, who they had talked about it with. Like George for example. So they had one exception and that one exception knew they were the exception. But it was their partners choice to tell them that they were.  
They all looked relieved, somehow.

Suddenly a familiar voice broke him out of his confusion.   
“LEON, my mate. My friend, compadré.” Of course, this was Gwaine. Leon almost flinched back at being addressed this way.   
“Gwaine. Hi. What's going on?”

Leon asked and then noticed that Gwaine.... THE Sir Gwaine... was wearing a red bracelet also.   
Probably because of the bet. So Gwaine was still in the Game, it seemed. The bracelet was apparently not bound to one's attraction, or romantic interest.   
It was simply bound to a decision.   
You don't choose who you love. You don't choose who you're attracted to. You don't even choose whether or not you're comfortable with certain situations.   
But you can choose to tell people that. You can choose to listen. And you can choose how you act on it. And it is better for everyone involved, if you stay true to yourself. True to your feelings and true to your promises.  
So you choose a color based on the result of a combination of all those decisions.

“I've learned my lesson.”, Gwaine said and sighed. “I'm sorry, Leon. For everything I've said. Really. Percy opened my eyes for me. He made me kiss walls, you should have seen it.”  
Gwaine swung his arm around Leon's shoulder to drag him away from the crowd. Which made Leon walk crouched down, because he was taller than Gwaine. He wasn't sure he was comfortable with being in such close proximity to Gwaine. After all, he had JUST escaped a crowd, because they were too close.  
But maybe he could make an exception for Gwaine at the moment. He couldn't expect Gwaine to read his mind. 

“Was one of those walls Percy?”, Leon frowned back, causing Gwaine to blink rapidly, and then break out into laughter. “No. I'm pretty sure that would have defied the purpose. But now that you mention it.... what a shame.”, Gwaine tilted his head in consideration. 

"Well... I guess this means, you won the bet. When should I pay up?", Leon asked, sighing heavily and pointed at the bracelet. "Wait... I won?", Gwain grinned in surprise.   
"It was my goal to make you understand my point of view. So... I suppose, yes. You did. I thought you'd be he first one to give up, actually."  
Gwaine laughed. "Well then."

They looked at each other for one awkward moment, then Gwaine sighed and pointed at the red of his bracelet. "Actually. I think I'll pass."  
Leon actually huffed out a laugh. "Really?"  
"You made your point very clear, mate."  
Leon sighed in relief. After all, their deal had been a kiss. And Leon had tried everything to avoid that.  
"You know, I'm fairly certain that Percival has been eyeing your bracelet ever since I came in here. You should probably switch colors around him."  
"You think?", Gwaine sounded surprised.   
"He's been into you for weeks, Gwaine. Give him a chance. He's much better for you than Margaret."  
"Well yeah... like THAT'S hard." Gwaine laughed. "I wish I had looked through her sooner."  
"So did I.", Leon nodded at him.

There was a pause between them.

“By the way.”, Gwaine's voice turned serious. “Morgana brought us some concerning news earlier.”, he locked eyes with Leon.   
“Is it true?”, he whispered. “Are you Bruta's brother?”  
Leon's eyes widened. “Morgana knows?”, he asked and Gwaine gaped at him.   
Leon ran a hand through his own blond hair. “Shit.”, he muttered.   
But Gwaine was still quiet. 

“What the hell, Leon?”, Gwaine asked. “Morgana thinks you're his decedent. But I know better. Arthur thinks you may want the throne, if you found out.”

“Why would I want the throne?”, Leon frowned. “I don't even have the right to it. Bruta was the king. Not me. HIS decedents are the rightful heirs. BRUTA united Albion. BRUTA created Camelot. I had nothing to do with it. We didn't inherit the kingdom from OUR father. My brother CREATED Albion.   
Also I'm not really fond of the duties that come with kingship. I will NOT be in charge of producing an heir, I tell you that!”  
“Do you even have to? Since you're immortal and all?”, Gwaine asked. Leon frowned even further.   
“Oh... No, I suppose I wouldn't.” Leon agreed in thought.   
“But... you did save his life by commanding a secret army, even though you were just a squire, right?”   
Leon blinked, then took a deep breath. That was more complicated than he could explain at the moment. Maybe ever. 

“Gwaine, I've seen kingdoms rise and fall. And I've seen how Camelot changed. Sometimes it's good to change whose in charge. Would you want an kingdom ruled by an immortal Uther? I wouldn't. So I can't expect people to let ME rule for the same reason.”

“You'd be a better king than Uther though.”, Gwaine commented.   
“Thank you.”, Leon said earnestly. “But not as good as Arthur.”  
And to that, Gwaine agreed. 

Then, suddenly, Arthur and Merlin appeared in front of them. Merlin grinned.   
“Hey!”, he exclaimed and winked at Leon. Leon narrowed his eyes in question. Then Merlin pointed at the mistletoe above them.   
Gwaine was about to step in, to protest what Merlin was implying.   
But the thing is... Merlin just knew people. And he knew Leon very well. And they had worked a way around the whole mistletoe thing long before Gwaine had invented the bracelet code. 

Leon laughed shortly and straightened his stand. What followed was that Merlin stepped back a little, as did Leon. And then they bowed to each other courtly. Then they finished with a salute. 

“What on earth was that?”, Arthur asked Merlin bemused.   
“What? Many people like kissing under the mistletoe, but some don't. That doesn't mean they have to be excluded from the tradition, right? I don't want anyone to feel left out. SO... we replaced it with something else.” He was beaming.   
Leon grinned. Merlin was right, they had been doing this for years. There were just a few people he didn't have to avoid during Christmas. Merlin was clearly one of them. Sure, it was a simple replacement, but it was very effective.

It was then that the king cleared his throat. Actually, he was just hit full force with a lot of loving emotions for his servant, so err... he had to change the subject. “You told him, Gwaine?”, Arthur asked but looked at Leon now. 

“Told him what?”, Gwaine asked, already forgetting what he had been talking to Leon about.   
“The.... thing about Leon Pendragon. Your ancestor.”, Arthur tried to sound prepared for Leon's reaction, but he clearly wasn't. Merlin grabbed his hand for comfort, like nobody would notice. (Everyone did.)

Leon laughed. “I've always known, Sire.”  
Arthur looked at him in surprise. “You did?”  
“Of course. Don't worry about me. I'm exactly where I want to be.”

Arthur heaved a heavy sigh of relief (and squeezed Merlin's hand). 

And then, an uproar was heard in the distance. Muttering and chaos was to be heard from all sides of the room, but when Leon turned, all he could see was Karen.   
Pinned to a wall by Margaret, who was holding a large knife at her neck.   
And Margaret was shouting nonsense, while George had charged at her to get her away from his wife. Their child was currently in another maids arm who had requested to see the babe earlier. 

“What the hell?”, Arthur asked, but Leon was already moving out of instinct. 

“If I can't have him, no one will!”, Margaret was shouting. And oh... OH. Leon saw what had happened.   
The rumors of Karen and him having an affair had finally reached Margaret. Jealous, selfish, insane Margaret. 

She held her knife too close to Karen's throat. Leon knew he had to be focused now.  
He didn't know what Margaret would do next. He had to stay calm. He couldn't just tear her away from Karen. And George seemed to realize the same thing, because he was instinctively searching for Leon's eyes for help.  
“Margaret? What the hell?”, Gwaine also stepped forward and suddenly their view on them was completely free. 

“Just watch.... ”, Margaret whispered into Karen's ear, whose eyes were frightened and tear stained from the sudden hostage situation.   
“He's a SORCERER!”, she shouted and pointed her free hand at Leon. 

Leon froze. Because oh well. THAT was one way to get someone killed in Camelot.   
Heads turned to Leon. The problem was... not all of them were directed AT him.   
Because you know... Leon stood in about the same line that Merlin was standing in. The man who was still standing next to Arthur.   
And who was the only real sorcerer here apart from Morgana. And some people knew that. Leon's secret however.... wasn't as well known.   
Merlin as well, froze, as he misjudged the look that was directed at Leon, as one directed at him. 

The worst part was, Leon and George had a protection squad for Merlin. None of which knew about Leon's immortality OR his previous encounters with Margaret.   
Heads turned to Merlin. 

Leon realized this the moment that George did as well. They exchanged a glance in shock and made the mistake of turning around.  
“Merlin, why are they looking at you?”, Arthur asked. And then, realization hit him, as he stepped away. “No way. You wouldn't.”

“Arthur, I can explain!”, Merlin was practically begging for Arthur to listen. But Arthur looked hurt... betrayed.   
“Arthur, please. I only use my magic for you. Please, you have to believe me.” Arthur pushed Merlin away.   
Leon cursed at his own stupidity. 

“What?”, Leon noticed Gwaine, who was staring and pointing between Leon and Merlin. Because Gwaine hadn't known about Merlin.  
He just knew about Leon's immortality. Which made his position the exact opposite to that of everyone else.

Leon swallowed hard, as he spoke up. “Merlin, stop talking.”, he said, much too late. To which Merlin just responded with a stare. It took a few moments, until Merlin managed to read Leon's pained expression correctly.   
“You knew?”, he asked, as he realized how certain Leon was.  
Morgana, Gwen and Lancelot who had noticed the situation, placed themselves between the odd couple whose relationship was now in jeopardy.   
Percival stood behind Arthur, ready to physically hold him back, should he try to attack Merlin. 

“You!”, Arthur now glanced between Leon and Merlin as well. “You knew?”, he repeated Merlin's question.

“HEY!”, Margaret brought the attention back to her.   
“I don't care about the servant!”, she shouted, shocked what her actions had just caused. She looked confused.   
“I meant -”

“She's talking about me.”, Leon said and faced her again. A frown on his features. He was angry now. But he could feel the heads turn back to him. Suddenly, even the smallest of whispers died down.  
“Let her go.”, Leon demanded in his deepest voice. The one usually reserved to command armies. 

He stood broader now. Prepared for nearly anything.

“You're a sorcerer, too?”, ironically Merlin and Arthur spoke at the same time. Morgana, Lance and Percy however, were so stunned they temporarily lost their focus on Arthur.   
“No, I'm not.”, Leon corrected easily, while Gwaine stepped back. Knowing this wasn't his battle to fight. 

Leon walked slowly towards Margaret.   
“Stay where you are.”, she said and her eyes glanced with a fire that was impossible to misjudge as anything but fear.   
“You ARE a sorcerer! I saw you die!”, she announced. And then... everything went still, as Leon still didn't stop until he stood right over her. This time he knew he looked threatening. 

“I will kill her.”  
“You will not.”, Leon growled.  
“Yes, I -”

And then, as she tried to slit Karen's throat, blood already tickling down her neck. And the sight alone made Leon loose his temper.   
Leon grabbed Margaret by the neck and immediately howled her to the ground.   
She yelped in surprise at his overflowing rage. And her knife dislodged itself from her grip. Stuck within something else. Something... sturdier than a simple throat.   
Leon hissed in a breath as he felt the blade pierce his heart.   
Margaret's eyes were wide and wild as she tried to breathe. 

The surrounding knights, however, grabbed for their own weapons as well. Much too late to do anything to stop her.  
Arthur, Merlin and his protection squad all gasped as they saw the blood dripping from Leon's wound.   
Leon only managed another deep growl, as he spit out the pain.   
Then his attention flipped back to Margaret, who still couldn't breathe from the strength of his grip. 

“Now listen here, you little shit.” People actually flinched.  
Leon did curse much more often, than people gave him credit for. Right now, he didn't care to conceal his hatred for this woman anymore. He broke character, but that was to be expected.  
“I don't fucking belong to you! A NO is a NO and if you try and touch my ward one more time, I will slit your throat myself, am I clear!”

Stunned silence. Nobody had ever seen Leon like this. Wild, and angry. Some people were properly frightened.

Margaret's eyes flipped towards the knife that was stuck in Leon's chest. Then she kicked it with her free foot. The knife lodged even deeper into his chest before the handle broke of at her kick. Leon pained out another growl as witnesses covered their mouths or their children's eyes in shock. 

“She doesn't love you! You're MY destiny.”, her eyes were insane. And maybe she was, because earlier that day she had already killed Leon once. That gave her this confidence. Because... murder apparently had no consequences.  
Leon wouldn't die, so where was the harm in trying to kill him? The answer was in the pain, obviously.  
“I practically RAISED her.”, Leon said, his eyes growing colder, while Margaret stilled in shock. 

Was the room colder or was that the people around them just freezing in confusion.   
“And if you dare lay a hand on her, you will have to face the consequences.   
I don't believe in destiny. I believe in choices. And you made the choice to haunt me and the people I care about. I cannot let you go. This is my choice.”  
In a moment of clarity, Leon realized what he had to do. She was insane. She was going to murder Karen and George and their baby and everyone else as well. 

Who would stop her, when Leon eventually submitted to the knife in his chest?

One moment, Margaret was still trying to breathe, looking at him. Begging him to reconsider his feelings for her. The next moment, Leon snapped her neck. Her squirming body stopped moving immediately. Her eyes went glassy and she went limp.   
He lay her down, closing his eyes. 

He knew exactly what this looked like. He inhaled a deep breath and tried to reach for his wound, but he had to fight the black spots that now danced in front of his eyes.  
He had just killed Margaret. And when Leon looked at Gwaine – Gwaine who had once loved her – he felt regret crawling at his insides.   
Then he turned to Karen who stared at him with mortification.   
“Leon -”, she whispered. 

“Are you alright?”, he asked. Not sure how she must feel. Not sure how anyone must be feeling about him right now. And he tried not to choke on the blood that was slowly settling in his mouth. When Margaret had kicked the knife, it must have pierced his lung as well.   
Wasn't that just perfect. He could hardly breathe.

“Leon, the knife.”, Karen said and relief washed over Leon's face. She was worried about him. She wasn't mad. That was good.  
“Nothing a good resurrection won't fix.”, Leon coughed out. Her eyes widened, as she saw that his teeth were pink with blood. 

“George!”, she called for her husband, who was, unfortunately, hurried to get their child to safety. 

“What the hell?”, Arthur stared at him, heaving from shock and surprise and something else entirely.   
Then he turned to Merlin. Something heavy settled on his chest. But Arthur tried to look as fierce and strong as possible. As he tried to make up his mind.   
As he recognized all those people who were trying to protect Merlin. All people whom he knew and trusted. Despite Merlin being a sorcerer. Despite Leon being a sorcerer too, as it seemed. It made him doubt his stand on magic. The world's stand on magic. His people's stand on magic. Just for a second. But it convinced him to take a risk.

“You said you have magic. Can you safe him?”  
Heads turned to Arthur. And silence followed, as tears trickled down Merlin's face.   
“What?”, he asked, not at all expecting the sad and scarred hope in Arthur's eyes.

“Leon is like a brother to me. You have to safe him!”, Arthur was practically begging now and that was Lance's, Gwen's and Morgana's cue to step back from the two of them. 

“I'm not sure, if I -”  
Leon, who didn't exactly have the mind to watch Arthur's struggles, staggered forward and put a calm hand on Gwaine's shoulder. “I'm sorry.”, he said and pointed at Gwaine's dead ex.   
“Are you kidding me right now? She killed you twice in two days”, he said and maybe that was all it took to turn the attention back to them. 

“Yeah well. Maybe you should twist the blade anyway. You would want to right? And it's actually better, if I die. Because if I don't, this wound will NOT heal up by magic and that's going to hurt much – much -”  
Leon would probably have hit the ground, if Gwaine didn't catch him.   
Leon's eyes were closed this time, but his heart had already stopped beating. Blood dripped from his wound on to the already bloody ground. Margaret's corpse was practically already forgotten.

Gwaine tried to breathe. He panicked. He couldn't panic now. He knew Leon would survive this. He had seen it once! It would be fine again? But it was different to actually feel the man grow colder with death, rather than just seeing it.   
It had been bad enough then.  
How could anyone ever get used to this? There was no guarantee that Leon would ACTUALLY survive every time he died, right?  
What if there was a limit? 

He laid him down on the ground. “Karen... George... he's stopped breathing.”, he said, trying to only hint at what had happened. George straightened his back immediately.   
It was so uncharacteristic of Gwaine to ask for help. To sound so lost and confused. 

It was now of all times that Merlin himself rushed forwards. Not without pleading Arthur with his eyes to let him check on Leon. Arthur hesitated, but nodded. Arthur was still trying to process what was happening.   
The tears hadn't stopped spilling, but that didn't stop Merlin from kneeling down in front of Leon's lifeless body.

Then Merlin checked on Leon's breathing.   
“Gwaine... He's dead.”, he choked out in a panic. There were multiple murmurs at the confirmation of the ongoing court physician. But George as well knelt down.   
“Okay, you all have to stay calm right now.”, he said, causing a few people to murmur in shock.   
“It'll be fine. He'll wake up. But we need to get the knife out. Otherwise the healing process takes longer.”  
And George sounded so insane to the unknowing ear that Merlin actually backed away.

“George -”  
“Just do as I say.”, George demanded and tried to coo the crying baby in his arms.. Karen was now also kneeling beside him. She was breathing hard, but she could manage. She had always been stronger than she let on and George knew that. So he handed the baby over to her and put a securing arm around her waist. After all, she had just been threatened with murder. And now her guardian was dead. She needed a moment to calm down.

Merlin nodded with curiosity and then used his magic to get the blade out. His eyes were golden, as he did so. It was clear for everyone to see. Especially Arthur, who looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't manage to find the right words. 

And then, as Merlin wiped his tears away and thew the literally bloody blade away, he cupped his face with both his hands. “This won't safe him, George.”, he shook his head. But then....

A silver light emerged from the wound.   
Merlin immediately jumped back in surprise, scrambling to his feet.   
“Merlin, what are you doing?”, Arthur asked, eyes wide at the sight.   
“I'm not doing that.”, Merlin said.   
But a moment later, Leon opened his eyes. The irises a full blown silver. Just like they had been in the vaults. 

Merlin stared at him in complete shock, trying to find eyes that could tell him whether or not he was imagining this. But he wasn't the only one with this reaction.

“You ARE a sorcerer.”, Merlin whispered in shock. He should have known. He always knew when anything magical happened in this castle. But he hadn't known about THIS!

Leon looked around disoriented. Until he noticed what was happening and then he sat up immediately. Then he felt dizzy. He leaned back again and took a deep breath. “No, I'm not.”, he finally managed to say as he registered the question.  
“I'm just cursed.”

“Fuck, men. That's fucked up.”, Gwaine said, but he also sounded relieved. And more prepared than anyone else in the room (Except for George and Karen) “If I were you, I'd be shitfaced 24/7 for all the four hundred years you were alive.”  
“I was, for the first one hundred years, actually. Couldn't deal with everyone dying around me. The usual, you know.”, Leon laughed.   
“You drink?”, Gwaine gaped, shocked beyond believe.  
“Not anymore.”, Leon sighed. Honestly, at this point it was too late for him to freak out. Everyone knew.   
That was just a fact that he couldn't change anymore. 

“But you were just...”, Arthur said, holding his head, before he grabbed a chair and sat down.   
Merlin looked at him painfully, while the king tried to avoid his eyes. 

“Is everyone here magic?”, he asked and looked at Morgana for help.   
Morgana winced at the sight and bit her lips. Before conjuring a small flame within her hands.   
Arthur's eyes widened, as he looked at the flame and then at her golden eyes. 

He stared back at Leon, who was still covered in his own blood. But otherwise fine.   
“You have magic, too.”, he said and pointed at Leon.   
Leon rolled his eyes.   
“No, Sire. Again. I've been cursed with immortality.”

“How's that a curse?”, Gwaine asked curiously.   
Leon chuckled humorlessly. “Because it's unnatural. And nature things it has to do it's best to try and kill you to restore the balance. And dying is not fun.”

“Immortal.”, Arthur repeated. “400 years you said?”

“I'm older than I look.”, Leon answered simply.   
Gwaine shook his head. “He's Bruta's brother.”, he said and immediately Arthur raised his back.   
“What?”

“He really didn't need to know that.”, Leon commented, but also closed his eyes. 

Arthur just stared at him.   
And then at Merlin. And then at Morgana.   
“All of you. You lied to me.”

“Arthur, please -”, Merlin sounded desperate. Morgana's face twisted in an apology. “I'm sorry, brother.”  
Leon just kept his eyes closed. 

“I trusted you. ALL of you.”, Arthur said and he sounded pained. 

He closed his eyes and held his head again. He was processing. Morgana and Merlin exchanged a glance. But all three magical creatures kept quiet and waited for Arthur's judgment.   
Interestingly enough, when Arthur looked up, a certain clarity shining from his eyes, he looked at Gwaine instead. 

“Gwaine...”, he began, causing Gwaine to straighten up as well. He didn't look like himself, actually. He looked lost and irritated. Even Gwaine sometimes needed time to process. 

“When we were discussing the bracelets, you said something that... that I think was very wise.”

“Me? Wise?”, Gwaine blinked.   
Arthur was shaking, as he continued.   
“You said that sometimes people have reasons to do what they do that others can't understand. Everybody has their reasons and their own context to certain situations.   
And those reasons are none of other people's business.”

Arthur breathed. “I don't understand why or HOW this is happening.”, he looked around.   
“I know you lied to me. But I don't know why. And I can guess some of your reasons. But I trusted you.  
All of you. And I feel like none of you gave that same trust in return.”

It was silent for a moment, but then Arthur spoke up again. 

“I suppose there are things that are always supposed to stay hidden.”, he said and fiddled with one of the rings that marked him the king of Camelot.   
“But there is no guarantee that it will never come to light. And I wish I wasn't faced with this...”, he flailed his arms.... “this situation right now.”

He paused yet again, but the people knew he needed time to talk. 

“But I am now. I deserve the truth. I deserve your trust. I've bared my soul to you.”, he looked at Merlin.   
“I deserve that you give me your reasons. Because I hope -”, he closed his eyes in fear. “- that my father was wrong and magic isn't evil.”

Suddenly there was life back in the room. And excited whispering was to be heard.   
“I need to know what you used magic for. I need to know, why you chose it. I need to know -”, he looked at Leon, “- how long you've had it.”  
He was quivering now.   
“Because I'm tired of being betrayed. I can't bare this. And I can't -”, he took another shuddering breath. “I can't loose all of you at once. So please... give me reasons.  
Give me something.   
Because if all of you betrayed me... what kind of king am I?  
I'm supposed to represent my people. How can I do that, when I don't even know who these people are?”

It was the sheer number of people that came out to have a connection to magic or that were trying to protect those people that made Arthur realize that this wasn't a bunch of traitors.   
If all of these people wanted the crown,   
why had Leon just rejected his claim to the throne?  
Why hadn't Morgana challenged him in a duel to be queen?  
Why hadn't Merlin tried to kill him?   
Why would Lancelot, Gwen and Percival and Gwaine be protecting these people, without ever trying to harm Arthur?

“I was scared.”, Morgana confessed, tears in her eyes. “I was alone. I didn't know what to do. I thought, you'd hate me.”   
Arthur's eyes softened at her tears. But he still looked pained.

Merlin was shaking too now, as he looked at Arthur in shame.   
“I was told I shouldn't tell anyone.”, he began. “I was told not to tell my friends. Not to tell the king. And never, ever, to tell you. We didn't know each other then. I didn't have to tell you my secrets.   
And then we became friends. And I -”, Merlin pressed his lips together. “I fell in love with you.”  
Arthur's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden confession.   
“And it felt like it was too late to tell you. I was scared you would reject me for it. I'm still scared you'll never want to see me again. I've always used it to protect you. Always.   
You were told to hate magic. I AM magic. It hurt. But it was better than see you suffer for my mistakes and my decisions.”  
Arthur was searching Merlin's eyes for something more. Because Merlin had started speaking, but his explanation went far into the unknown. Of stories and decisions that he had made that would have made Arthur suffer. You could tell there was a depth to it that Merlin couldn't hurry to explain.   
“I wanted to tell you. Every single day. I couldn't. Every time I tried there was something happening that made your opinion about magic even worse. And I was so, so scared.”  
Merlin looked away. 

Arthur was quiet. “You could have told me eventually. After my father died.”  
Merlin held back a sob. “He was killed by a sorcerer.”  
“And how is that your fault?”  
“I was disguised as that sorcerer.”, Merlin admitted. Arthur's arms fell to his sides.   
“I have done so many things. I -”, Merlin faltered. 

“We were trying to protect him. Because he was doing everything to protect you, Sire.”, Leon finally spoke up, realizing that Merlin wouldn't be able to speak any more.   
Merlin's head turned to him. “You what?”, he asked, looking around. Finding Lancelot, Gwen, Morgana and Percival staring back. As well as Karen and George of course. 

“Arthur, there was a prophecy about the once and future king. A man who is destined to unite all four kingdoms and make it one giant Albion. It's supposed to bring peace and prosperity to the lands. That king is destined to be reborn. Again and again, when Albion's need is greatest.   
We believe you are that king.”, Leon explained and Arthur kept staring at him.  
“How do you know it's me?”  
“Because I knew your past life. Arthur, my brother was that king and he did fulfill his destiny, before he died. You are just like him. In almost every way.”  
Leon didn't say more. He couldn't tell Arthur that he was actually like a brother to him as well.   
He couldn't tell him that he had been scared to trust him too much, because he would be reminded of all the time he had lost with his real brother.  
Leon had left Camelot when he was still a young man. He hadn't seen his brother alive ever since. 

“I-”

“Nobody expects you to make a decision right now, Sire. We are happy enough that you're listening at all.”, George bowed to the king. And like him, many of the servants (who agreed) followed his example.   
And with them, the nobles, Leon, Lancelot, Morgana, Percival, they all bowed to Arthur. 

Arthur looked at them, and then at Merlin, who was the only one left standing.   
“You are really magic?”  
Merlin nodded with closed eyes.   
Arthur swallowed hard, then he rose to his feet and spread his arms.   
Merlin blinked. “Sire?”  
“No come here, before I change my mind.”, Arthur ordered, causing Merlin's eyes to widen comically. “I'm getting a hug?”  
“Don't make me regret this.”, Arthur tried to sound confident, but actually he needed the hug himself. And Merlin was all too happy to oblige. 

\----------------------------------

In the following days, they would be talking about magic more. How it worked, how they came to have it in the first place and so on.   
They would be talking about the repeal on the magic ban and more and more. 

Because Arthur too, had learned a lesson those past few days.   
Some things, you cannot explain. You can't tell everyone everything. He had learned that, when he was forced to lie under the mistletoes.   
And he learned that whatever you say can be misunderstood. That things you say can be twisted around and used against you. 

He tried to do better than that. He tried to listen and to give his people the chance to show who they truly are.  
He didn't know his people yet. But he would soon learn to know them.

In the end, being yourself is the highest form of love you can feel. And giving others the freedom to be themselves, is the biggest gift you can give.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *(x) Not gonna lie, I got really emotional there. I could tell you in so long details how I came to like me after spending the majority of my life hating myself. But I think it's probably better if I let my random emotional outbursts speak for themselves. 
> 
> *(11) I have been informed that the word Google translate gave me for Pendragon, actually means leader in Greed. But you know what? Let's pretend that's just what they used to call Pendragon's back then. Let's roll with it. I'm not going to change it at this point :)

**Author's Note:**

> *A.N.:// I know, at the time it was called winter solstice. But in favor of a Christmas special, I – as always – ignore accuracy. (Like I need a fucking excuse for that lmao)  
> **A.N.:// personally, I don't think anyone in their time would have complained much about the changing room situation. I just brought it in, because I honestly I've always felt very... very stressed in changing rooms.  
> What idiot thought that putting a bunch of teenagers who are cruelly honest critics, never-shut-ups and also bullies who love to show how much better they are then others, into the same changing room was a good idea? Maybe it's supposed to teach us that differences are okay. That every body is different and shit and we all need to get along, regardless of what we look like.  
> But then I don't get the separation rule either. Were they expecting orgies or something? I dunno. The entire thing is complicated and has far too many perspectives.  
> Either way, I always felt uncomfortable and my childhood would have been easier without the experience. But I'm also currently figuring out that the nb label fits me really... really well. So maybe that was just a me thing then. I dunno?  
> You can discuss it in the comments, if you want.


End file.
